Daily News Capsules
1. India invited to join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza
US President Donald Trump has invited India to be part of the so-called “Board of Peace” for Gaza along with other world leaders, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday. Trump had unveiled the board as part of the second phase of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas to end Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, and the body is expected to oversee capacity-building for governance, reconstruction, investments and capital mobilisation in the devastated enclave. The development came hours after Pakistan’s Foreign Office said in a statement that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had received an invitation from Trump to join the Board of Peace. Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the leaders of France, Germany, Australia and Canada have also reportedly been invited to join the board. Some details of the Board of Peace emerged when letters written by Trump to Argentina’s President Javier Milei and Paraguay’s President Santiago Pena were posted by the two leaders on social media. Trump’s letter to Milei said the board will work to “solidify Peace in the Middle East” and “embark on a bold new approach to resolving Global Conflict”. A draft charter sent to some 60 countries by the Trump administration calls for members of the board to contribute $1 billion in cash if they want their membership to last more than three years, Reuters reported. On Friday, Trump announced that former British prime minister Tony Blair — who faced intense criticism for supporting the 2003 invasion of Iraq based on claims that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, which later proved false — will be among the board’s founding executive members, alongside Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, US secretary of state Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East, and World Bank Group President Ajay Banga.
Possible Question
What is the proposed ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza, and what role is it expected to play in ceasefire implementation, post-conflict governance, and reconstruction in West Asia?
2. Crypto fraud reports in India surge in 3 years as clues point to cybercrime transactions spurt
Fraudulent and suspicious transactions among India’s cryptocurrency users have surged from a mere 1,343 reported instances in 2023-24 financial year to 11,720 in the first eight months of the current fiscal, with 82% involving Indians aged 20-40, according to a government report seen by HT. The explosive growth in dubious activity comes as India’s cryptocurrency market has expanded rapidly despite persistent regulatory concerns. As of November 30, 2025, the country has 34 million virtual digital asset (VDA) users — industry parlance for cryptocurrencies and related tokens — holding assets worth ₹24,800 crore. Nearly 41% have invested through offshore platforms, beyond the direct reach of Indian authorities. The government has been wary of cryptocurrencies, citing risks of money laundering, terror financing and tax evasion. In March 2023, the Narendra Modi government brought cryptocurrency exchanges, transfers and related financial services under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in an attempt to bring the largely unregulated sector under scrutiny. Under the law, any VDA service provider operating in India — whether based offshore or onshore — must register with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the country’s financial intelligence agency, which compiles reports on such activity. The obligation is activity-based: if a platform allows Indian users to exchange cryptocurrencies for rupees, transfer digital assets, or store them, it must register and report suspicious activity, regardless of where the company is physically located. So far, 52 VDA service providers have registered with the FIU. These platforms must file suspicious transaction reports (STRs) whenever they detect activity that raises red flags — transactions that may involve proceeds of crime, appear unusually complex without justification, or have no clear economic purpose. Red flags include sudden activity in dormant accounts, transactions deliberately kept just under reporting thresholds, circular trading to create artificial losses, and cases where the source of funds cannot be verified. The number of such reports has exploded to reach 11,720 in the current fiscal year till November 30.
Possible Question
How has India brought cryptocurrency and virtual digital asset (VDA) service providers under regulatory oversight, and what role does the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) play under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)?
3. Navarro asks why US ‘paying for AI in India’
White House trade advisor Peter Navarro has renewed his criticism of India, questioning why Americans are paying for Artificial Intelligence in India. Navarro’s comments on Saturday came amid a strain in India-US ties, which began after US President Donald Trump slapped a 50 per cent tariff on New Delhi, including a 25 per cent additional duty for its purchase of Russian crude oil. In an interview on Real America’s Voice, Navarro said,”…It’s like, why are Americans paying for AI in India? Chat GPT (is) operating on US soil, using American electricity, servicing large users of Chat GPT, for example, in India and China and elsewhere around the world. So that’s another issue that’s got to be dealt with.” His comments came as ties between New Delhi and Washington are reeling under strain on several other issues apart from tariffs, including Trump’s claim of ending the India-Pakistan conflict in May last year and Washington’s new immigration policy. Last year, Navarro consistently ranted against India for Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil and high tariffs, calling India the “Maharajah of tariffs.”He had also termed India’s purchases of Russian oil as “blood money” and said Delhi didn’t buy oil from Moscow in large quantities before the Ukraine conflict.
Possible Question
Why has the issue of cross-border digital services and AI infrastructure emerged as a point of friction in India–US trade relations, and how does it intersect with tariffs, energy use, and data localisation debates?
4. Govt may levy duty to mop up windfall gains of fuel retailers
A sustained low in international oil prices has led to a surge in profits for state-run fuel retailers, prompting the government to consider mopping up these windfall gains through a levy to build a cushion in the event of a future spike in crude prices—a scenario many see as plausible given global geopolitical uncertainty. The three state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs)—Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL)—which enjoy a near monopoly in India’s fuel retail business, posted a combined net profit of ₹34,066.51 crore in the first half of 2025-26, a 269.4% year-on-year jump that exceeded their full-year profit of ₹33,601.83 crore in 2024-25, according to publicly available data. Refiners are currently earning gains of approximately ₹12 per litre on petrol and ₹10 per litre on diesel after international crude oil prices slumped, especially since it fell under $70 a barrel in August, according to analysts. People aware of the development said the government’s first option could be to levy a special additional excise duty (SAED) to mop up about 50% of the windfall gains without any change in retail prices of auto fuels. This would allow the government to build fiscal headroom while keeping pump prices unchanged for consumers. On April 8, 2025, the government raised SAED on petrol and diesel by ₹2 per litre each in similar manner to garner about ₹34,000 crore in a year. This excise duty hike took place after the Centre had slashed excise duty to reduce pump prices of the fuels by ₹13 per litre and ₹16 a litre on petrol and diesel, respectively in two tranches in November 2021 and May 2022. But other options are not off the table, including passing on the windfalls equitably to all three stakeholders — the government, the refiner and the consumer—or allowing OMCs to enjoy the windfalls until the end of this fiscal year on March 31, 2026, and then taking the dividend. The government will follow a calibrated approach based on geopolitical developments and volatility in international oil prices, the people said, requesting anonymity.
Possible Question
What are windfall taxes on oil and gas companies, and how does the use of Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) help the government manage price volatility, fiscal stability, and consumer interests?
5. Rising costs threaten India’s solar power ambition
India’s solar power ambition faces dual threats: rising tariffs when it grapples with a glut of uncontracted green capacity. Record rallies in silver and aluminium, tightening supply from China due to capacity quotas and a rollback of 9% value-added tax refunds from April, and a weaker rupee have driven module prices higher by a third since late December. That could threaten the profitability and viability of projects under construction, according to four people aware of the matter. Modules turned costlier as photovoltaic cell prices jumped to 5.5 cents per watt peak from 3.5 cents in late December, said the people, who didn’t want to be identified. A module comprises multiple cells, which are largely imported. “The recent jump in cell prices highlights the structural vulnerability of India’s solar supply chain,” said Prashant Mathur, chief executive officer at Saatvik Green Energy Ltd, a Gurugram-based solar component manufacturer. “As equipment costs rise, upcoming projects will face higher capital costs, and tariffs for new power purchase agreements (PPAs) are likely to harden after a prolonged period of deflation.” A total of around 93GW of solar power capacity is under construction, and the segment accounts for an installed capacity of 135.81GW. India targets 300GW of solar energy in its overall 500GW non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030. The risk of higher solar tariffs is another concern for India’s renewable energy sector, as states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, and West Bengal, prefer long-term purchase pacts for coal-fired power due to the 24-hour supply certainty they offer. Moreover, 43GW of green power, involving an investment of ₹2.1 lakh crore, doesn’t have long-term purchase and supply agreements, Mint reported earlier. Renewable power generation has also been curtailed in Rajasthan and Gujarat, two of India’s largest solar energy-generating states.
Possible Question
What structural vulnerabilities in India’s solar supply chain have been exposed by rising global input costs, and how could these affect renewable energy targets, power tariffs, and long-term energy security?
Editorial Snapshots
A. Too little for so much disruption
India’s aviation regulator imposed an unprecedented ₹22.2 crore penalty on IndiGo on Saturday for the airline’s operational collapse that stranded over 300,000 passengers last month. In three days, 2,507 flights were cancelled and 1,852 delayed — the most acute crisis in the country’s aviation sector. The unparalleled crisis deserved unforeseen penalties. But the question is not whether the penalty is unprecedented, but whether it is adequate — and the answer is no. The inquiry committee’s findings are unambiguous. IndiGo pursued “minimal recovery margins” while maximising crew and aircraft utilisation, creating a system so brittle that normal operational stress shattered it. The airline had two years to prepare for stricter crew fatigue rules that took effect in November 2025. It chose instead to maintain hiring and pay freezes while expanding planned winter operations by 9.6% compared to the previous year. IndiGo projected “nil impact” from the new rules in October 2025, weeks before the meltdown. The inquiry found the airline “failed to adequately identify planning deficiencies”. Now, consider the monetary consequences. The ₹22.2 crore fine represents 0.31% of the ₹7,263 crore net profit IndiGo recorded in the 2024-25 financial year (with a turnover of ₹80,803 crore). The penalty is a mere blip in its economics — amounting to less than 2.5 hours of the airline’s earnings last year. The fallout for its executives is a similar story. Chief executive Pieter Elbers received a “caution” and chief operating officer Isidre Porqueras Orea was “warned”. It was the senior vice president for operations who was removed — the only executive to face material consequences. The architects of IndiGo’s cost-cutting model appear to have escaped with administrative reprimands. And then there is the spotlight on the regulator’s own role. The inquiry cited “inadequate regulatory preparedness” — a rare admission that DGCA failed its oversight mandate, with little known consequence as of now. Regulators in the West impose penalties calculated as percentages of annual revenue, designed to hurt. India must follow suit. Its aviation market is a duopoly between IndiGo and Air India. When a carrier commanding 60% market share optimises to the point of systemic fragility, costs are socialised across passengers while profits remain private. IndiGo will emerge with market dominance intact, profitability barely dented, and leadership unscathed simply because of the market power it holds.
Possible Question
How do repeated airline operational failures highlight gaps in aviation regulation and enforcement in India, and what reforms are needed to strengthen the accountability of both airlines and regulators?
B. Political predicament of the two NCPs
The Maharashtra municipal poll results offer at least two lessons. One, the BJP is clearly the preferred party of urban Maharashtra, and its agenda, a combination of developmental aspirations and Hindutva, has prevailed over regional and ethnic sentiments articulated by smaller parties. Two, the non-BJP groups will need to consolidate their vote bases if they seek to challenge the organisational might and financial resources of the saffron outfit. The BJP is also good at leveraging its position as the ruling party in the Centre and in the state. Old forms of mobilisation, patronage, or legacy are no longer sufficient to stall the BJP juggernaut. The Pawars were quick to recognise this, and the first post-result meeting of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) factions decided that the pre-poll alliance in place in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad — two urban bodies where the NCP has traditionally been strong but won by the BJP in recent elections — will continue. Elections to the 12 zilla parishad and 125 panchayat samiti in Maharashtra, due in early February, will be the first test for the alliance. The NCPs won only 203 seats in the urban civic bodies, but the united NCP was more of a political force in rural areas, where the sugar cooperatives provided the party both personal and material resources. The NCP needs to save this base, and the Pawars coming together may help, but only for now. Sharad Pawar has been exceptionally good at managing the satrap-centric politics centred around cooperatives, but that order is changing. Politics in the state has become transactional and is increasingly centralised, and family loyalty may no longer translate into political backing. Going ahead, the NCPs will need to look beyond Brand Pawar and articulate a new politics to retain their identity and influence.
Possible Question
What do recent municipal election results in Maharashtra reveal about the changing nature of regional politics, and how have centralisation, coalition dynamics, and urban– rural divides reshaped parties like the NCP?
Fact of the day
Courts can’t undo judicial order after it is signed: SC: What began as a typographical slip in a bail order eventually landed before the Supreme Court, which has now ruled that courts cannot undo a signed order — no matter how awkward the mistake. In an unusual turn of events, the Supreme Court has restored bail to a man accused in a narcotics case after holding that the Patna high court had acted beyond its powers in recalling bail that had already been granted, solely because a court staffer mistakenly typed the word “allowed” instead of “rejected” in the operative portion of the order. A bench of justices Aravind Kumar and PB Varale said that once a judicial order is signed, it cannot be altered or reviewed except to correct a clerical or arithmetical error, as expressly barred under Section 362 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The court underlined that the high court’s attempt to undo the grant of bail on the basis of a staff error was impermissible in law. The case arose from a first information report (FIR) registered in Bihar’s Vaishali district in October 2024, under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The prosecution alleged that a person was intercepted with 6.33 kg of ganja and claimed during interrogation that the contraband was meant to be delivered to the petitioner, Rambali Sahni. On August 27, 2025, the Patna High Court granted Sahni anticipatory bail, noting that no recovery had been made from him and that his name surfaced only in the confessional statement of the co-accused. However, three days later, the same bench recalled the bail order, stating that the court had actually intended to reject the bail plea and that the word “allowed” had been mistakenly typed in the operative portion by the court’s personal assistant. In the recall order dated August 30, the HC further recorded that the personal assistant had tendered an unconditional apology, explaining that the error occurred as he was in deep grief following the sudden demise of his maternal uncle on the same day. Accepting the explanation, the HC modified the earlier order to reject the bail plea and directed cancellation of the bail bond.
