As IndiGo’s operational turmoil entered Day 3 on Friday, Dec 5, more than 600 flights were cancelled across major airports, adding to the over 550 cancellations reported on Dec 4. The airline has cancelled all 235 flights at Delhi airport today, while Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad were also severely affected, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded and disrupting travel plans. IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, has attributed the chaos to a pilot shortage compounded by winter-schedule pressures. The airline has requested partial relaxations of the new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms to stabilise operations, noting that full implementation is expected only by February 2026.
At the Delhi airport, all 235 IndiGo flights, including departures and arrivals, have been cancelled until 12 am Saturday, according to sources.
In an advisory, the airport requested travellers to check their flight status as “operational challenges were affecting some domestic flights causing delays and cancellations.” At Mumbai airport, 104 IndiGo flights — 53 departures and 51 arrivals — have been cancelled since morning, as per airport sources.
While Bengaluru reported the cancellations of 52 arrivals and 50 departures, the Hyderabad airport recorded 43 arriving and 49 departing flight cancellations as of Friday morning. In Pune, the airport director has confirmed that 32 IndiGo flights have been cancelled between 12 am and 8 am today, with one arriving from Nagpur diverted to Hyderabad.
“Pune Airport reported parking bay congestion as several IndiGo aircraft remained on the ground awaiting crew availability, causing delays to subsequent flights across multiple carriers. The airport is coordinating closely with airlines, ground handling agencies, Air Traffic Control, and other partners to manage congestion and restore normal operations as quickly as possible,” the director added.
At the Kolkata airport, between Wednesday and Friday, IndiGo experienced significant operational disruptions. Out of a total of 468 scheduled flights, there were 320 delays (arrivals and departures combined) and 92 cancellations.
The Thiruvananthapuram airport has also witnessed IndiGo flight delays and cancellations over the past two days. On Friday, Dec 5, three arrivals and three departures were delayed, while two arrivals and two departures have been cancelled. Yesterday, five arrivals and five departures were delayed.
Mumbai (TIP)- The Bombay High Court on Thursday, Dec 4, told the lawyer appearing for liquor baron Vijay Mallya that it would hear his petition questioning the validity of the Fugitive Economic Offences (FEO) Act, 2018, and seeking various reliefs in relation to the FEO proceedings against him, only after he returns to the country. “Tell your client to appear in court first, and then we will hear the matter. Take instructions on when he will come,” the division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad told senior advocate Amit Desai, who appeared for the absconding liquor baron, and posted his petition and connected pleas for further hearing on December 23.
Mallya, accused of defrauding nationalised banks to the tune of crores of rupees, fled the country in March 2016, around a year after the CBI registered the first criminal case against him in connection with loans taken by Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, from a consortium of banks led by IDBI Bank.
The Banking Securities & Fraud Cell of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI-BS&FC) had registered a First Information Report (FIR) in July 2015, charging him with criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and criminal misconduct relating to Rs 900 crore in loans disbursed by IDBI Bank to Mallya’s airline, where he is named as one of the accused. Based on another complaint, by the consortium of banks under the leadership of the State Bank of India, another FIR was registered in August 2016.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Mallya, as chairperson of Kingfisher Airlines, had allegedly committed gross irregularities in securing loans from banks, and diversion and laundering of funds.
He was also alleged to have siphoned off large sums of money, and parked it outside India to dodge the law here. After enactment of the FEO Act in 2018, proceedings were initiated against Mallya under the law, prompting him to file a petition before the high court. The petition seeks a declaration that the enactment was unconstitutional.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a reply to his petition, seeking a declaration that all orders, including those for the confiscation of his properties, under provisions of the FEO Act, be made subject to the outcome of the pending petition.
In its reply filed through additional solicitors-general, SV Raju and Anil Singh, the ED said Mallya cannot seek protection while continuing to evade summons to come to India. It added that Mallya had allegedly formed a complex web structure of his group companies to indirectly control and alienate the assets to repay the loans. However, when he failed to do so, he filed a suit in the Bombay High Court in 2013, stating that the guarantees were executed under duress, coercion and therefore, should be declared as invalid and unenforceable.
The estimated proceeds of crime generated in the 2016 complaint were to the tune of Rs 1,301 crore, and that of property involved in money laundering was found to be of Rs 9,990 crore, including the share of IDBI Bank. The debt recovery tribunal in January 2017 charged Kingfisher Airlines ? 6,203 crore, with interest of 11.50% per annum.
New Delhi (TIP)- Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said visiting foreign dignitaries were being discouraged from meeting him, a practice he described as a mark of the government’s “insecurity”. Speaking to reporters in the Parliament complex, Gandhi said successive governments, from the Vajpayee era to the Manmohan Singh years, had upheld the norm of ensuring that the LoP met foreign leaders. He claimed that this convention was being quietly abandoned.
“The government does not represent India alone. Meetings with the Opposition leader offer an alternative viewpoint and reflect the democratic character of the country. But during my visits abroad as well as when high-level delegations travel to India, subtle signals are sent that the Opposition leader should be kept off their schedule,” alleged Gandhi. Gandhi argued that the reluctance to facilitate these interactions stemmed from the ruling dispensation’s own sense of vulnerability. Without naming the Russian President, he said the pattern was consistent irrespective of who was visiting the country.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said it was “deeply unusual” and ran counter to the long-standing norms. She said the established protocol required foreign dignitaries to meet the LoP, but the current dispensation “seemed intent on stifling every alternative voice.”
“I cannot understand what drives such fear and insecurity,” she said, stressing that a democracy depends on space for every viewpoint and the move was a sign of the government’s own unease, which was putting the health of democracy at risk. “The LoP meeting foreign dignitaries during their India visits is a time-tested democratic tradition, so that our international engagement is deeper and more meaningful. But those who only wish to speak their own ‘Man ki Baat’ clearly have no regard for these traditions that serve as important pillars of our foreign policy engagement,” said Congress general secretary KC Venugopal.
Putin is in India for a summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where both sides are expected to focus on defence cooperation, securing bilateral trade mechanisms from external pressures, and exploring collaboration on small modular nuclear reactors, discussions closely watched by several Western capitals.
Rubbishing Rahul Gandhi’s claims, government sources told India Today TV that it is not the Ministry of External Affairs but the visiting delegation who decides if they want to organise meetings outside the Government.
However, one look at Rahul Gandhi’s claims paints a different picture. Since June 9, 2024, when he became the Leader of Opposition, he has met at least four foreign heads of state during their official visits to India, including former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He, along with Priyanka and Sonia Gandhi, met then-Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina on June 10.
Soon after, he met Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in Delhi on August 21, 2024. In an exclusive interview with India Today TV, Ibrahim described the Gandhis as “family friends” following his visit.
In 2025, Rahul Gandhi met New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam during their state visits to India.
Government sources further pointed out that Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders had met President Putin during his visit to India in December 2014.
Earlier, Rahul went on to say that both the Prime Minister and the External Affairs Ministry routinely steer visiting delegations away from the Opposition, calling it an act driven by ‘insecurity’. According to the Congress leader, the government does not want the LoP to offer a different perspective on India’s position.
Shrugging off concerns over the depreciation of rupee, the RBI has cut interest rate by 25 basis points to 5.25 per cent in a bid to further bolster economic growth, which rose to a six-quarter high of 8.2 per cent in the second quarter of the current financial year.
The development is expected to make advances, including housing, auto and commercial loans cheaper. Announcing the fifth bi-monthly monetary policy for the current fiscal, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has unanimously decided to cut the short-term lending rate or repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.25 per cent with a neutral stance. The rate cut comes on the back of the consumer price index (CPI) based headline retail inflation ruling below the 2 per cent lower band mandated by the government for the last three months.
India’s retail inflation dropped to a historic low of 0.25 per cent in October 2025, marking the lowest level since the Consumer Price Index (CPI) series was introduced. Besides, the Indian economy has clocked better-than-expected GDP growth of 8.2 per cent in the second quarter.
However, the rupee declined to historic low and crossed 90 against a dollar earlier this week making imports costlier, raising fears of rise in inflation. Rupee has depreciated by about 5 per cent so far this year.
The RBI has sharply raised growth projection to 7.3 per cent from earlier 6.8 per cent for the current financial year.
TORONTO (TIP): Canada has joined a major European Union defense fund, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office said Monday, December 1, as the country looks to diversify its military spending away from the United States, says AP in a report by Rob Gillies.
The plan allows Canadian defense companies access to a 150 billion euro ($170 billion) EU loan program, known as Security Action for Europe, or SAFE. That would allow Canadians firms to secure cheap, EU-backed loans to procure military equipment. “Canada’s participation in SAFE will fill key capability gaps, expand markets for Canadian suppliers, and attract European defense investment into Canada,” Carney said in a statement.
Canada is the first non-EU country to gain access. Carney has said he intends to diversify Canada’s procurement and enhance the country’s relationship with the EU. He has previously said that no more will over 70 cents of every dollar of Canadian military capital spending go to the U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s actions — including launching a trade war and suggesting Canada become the 51st U.S. state — infuriated Canadians and created the political environment for Carney to win the job of prime minister after promising to confront Trump’s increased aggression.
Carney’s government continues to review the purchase of U.S. F-35 fighter jets to explore other options. Carney has said the potential for having more production in Canada is a factor. A proposal by Sweden’s Saab promised that assembly and maintenance of the Saab Gripen fighter jet would take place in Canada.
Canada has said it will meet NATO’s military spending guideline by early next year. Talks on the U.K. joining the SAFE fund ended without agreement last week. Negotiations foundered over money, with Europe demanding more for Britain’s participation than the U.K. was willing to pay.
OTTAWA (TIP): Problems refuse to die down for Prime Minister Mark Carney even after the British Columbian Premier David Eby offered to talk with Alberta and Ottawa about the new pipeline on the condition that the existing ban on tanker traffic off his province’s northern coast remains in place.
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on November 27 to carry forward their shared missions. While this framework for an agreement will strengthen federal-provincial collaboration in the energy sector to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, unlock the full potential of Alberta’s energy resources, and create hundreds of thousands of new high-paying careers for Canadians, it has led to dissidence within the ruling Liberal caucus. Career environmentalist and Minister Steven Guilbeault did not waste any time quitting his membership of Carney’s Cabinet by reiterating his position as a key voice on the environment.
While distancing himself from the Liberal government on the issue of the MOU with the Alberta government, Steven Guilbeault circulated a three-page letter alleging that much of the policy he worked on “is or is about to be dismantled.”
The BC Premier, David Eby, too, has opposed the Alberta-Ottawa deal throughout.
Unmindful of the opposition, Prime Minister Mark Carney has gone ahead and named Marc Miller, a former federal minister who represents a Montreal riding, as the new minister of culture and identity, in place of Steven Guilbeault.
Mark Carney also made a few new appointments, including a couple of changes in his cabinet. Other changes and appointments include Joël Lightbound, currently Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement, who will also serve as Québec Lieutenant.
Also, Julie Aviva Dabrusin retains her portfolio, with the new title of Minister of the Environment, Climate Change, and Nature.
The Alberta-Ottawa MOU is built on practical solutions: stronger, more effective industrial carbon pricing; major private sector investments in clean technologies; and expanded, responsible energy development for the workers and communities who rely on it.
Under this partnership, Canada and Alberta will collaborate on multiple projects to build Canada’s economy and meet growing consumer and industrial energy demands. It will advance the construction of Pathways Plus—the world’s largest carbon capture, utilization, and storage project. The project will strengthen Canada’s energy sector, reduce emissions, and deliver substantial economic benefits, including more than $16 billion in GDP and more than 40,000 jobs annually.
TORONTO (TIP): Volunteering and social service come naturally to him. Born and brought up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, 45-year-old Hiren Shah lived up to the adage “like father, like son.” Emulating his illustrious father, Hemant Shah, a pioneer in promoting Indo-Canadians relations in general and trade partnerships in particular, Hiren has been out to prove that sincerity and loyalty have no substitute in social life.
Though it is a common saying that the Western world follows a “hire and fire” policy in work workplace, Hiren has been successful in proving the opposite.
He started working with McDonald’s while he was going to school at the age of 15. Since then, he has continued working with one of the world’s largest fast food enterprises and risen to be its director for franchise owner operators. For almost 30 years, he has still going strong with his first employer, a rare achievement in the Canadian context. He has done the Indo-Canadian community proud with his commitment and social work.
Recently, he was felicitated by the Mayor of Winnipeg, Scott Gillingham, for his volunteer work.
“I am humbled to share that this year I have been a recipient of the 2025 Mayor’s Volunteer Service award (Winnipeg) through Volunteer Manitoba. Giving back to my community has been an important part of my life for many years. Whether through the Ronald McDonald House, Winnipeg Kinsmen or the St Boniface Hospital Foundation, Natasha Shah (wife) and I are passionate about helping raise funds for causes near and dear to our hearts.
“The award is in recognition of our passion for people and commitment to making our community a better place every day in any way possible,” adds Hiren Shah.
You name an activity, and Shahs – Hiren and Natasha – are part of it.
Hiren serves on the Ronald McDonald House’s golf tournament board, which plans, coordinates and executes an annual fundraiser, and has also supported the Champions for Families program. He is also associated with the Winnipeg Kinsmen in 2018, and through his work with both the Kinsmen and Ronald McDonald House, he has helped direct funds to non-profits like Agape Table Soup Kitchen and Rainbow Resource Centre.
In the role of the vice-president of service with Winnipeg Kinsmen, he has had the honor to support various other non-profits, such as Special Olympics, Winnipeg Harvest, Toba Centre, Bruce Oake Recovery Centre, and so much more. Hiren approaches every experience with humility, respect, and dignity, leaving a lasting impression that inspires others to pay it forward and embrace the power of community.
(Prabhjot Singh is a Toronto based senior journalist. He writes on sports, politics and culture. He can be reached at prabhjot416@gmail.com)
She was honored in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the promotion of Punjabi language, culture and global representation of the Punjabi community
NEW YORK / PHAGWARA (TIP): Former Canadian Member of Parliament Ruby Dhalla was honored with the prestigious ‘Dhee Punjab Di’ Award during a special ceremony held in Phagwara on Sunday, November 30, 2025. The award was presented by the Punjabi Kala and Sahit Centre and Sangeet Darpan in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the promotion of Punjabi language, culture and global representation of the Punjabi community.
Speaking at the event, Principal Gurmeet Singh Palahi, president of the Punjabi Columnist Journalist Manch (Regd.), said that the Punjabi diaspora across the world has achieved remarkable success through dedication and hard work in various fields. He noted that Ruby stands out as an inspiring example among these achievers, having been elected four times as a Member of Parliament on the ticket of the Liberal Party of Canada. Dr Akshita Gupta, Commissioner of Phagwara Municipal Corporation, congratulated Dhalla on receiving the award and commended her for bringing honor to women at an international level.
Expressing gratitude, Ruby said she felt proud to have dedicated her life to social service through politics, always prioritizing the welfare of Punjabis as well as the people of Canada. She stated that she has consistently advocated for the rights of the needy, the elderly and all those who face challenges and marginalization in society.
She was honored with a commemorative memento, a traditional robe of honor (siropa) and a set of books by the Punjabi Kala and Sahit Centre. Members of the Banga Road Market Association also presented her with a special honor.
The relationship between India and Russia—earlier the Soviet Union—remains one of the most resilient bilateral partnerships in modern international politics. Marked by cordiality, strategic trust, and a deep sense of mutual respect, it is a partnership that has never been transactional, never been opportunistic, and never been shaken by the shifting tides of global politics. If anything, it is a relationship built in crisis, strengthened in adversity, and sustained by consistent political goodwill and people-to-people warmth.
India’s tremendous experience of Russian friendship during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War remains the defining chapter of this partnership. When the United States, under President Richard Nixon and National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger, tilted openly toward Pakistan—including dispatching the nuclear-armed Seventh Fleet to the Bay of Bengal in an unmistakable show of intimidation—it was the Soviet Union that firmly stood by India. Moscow not only provided diplomatic cover at the United Nations, vetoing a series of anti-India resolutions pushed by the U.S. and its allies, but also sent its own naval fleet to neutralize the American pressure. The Soviet support was so decisive that many Indian strategic scholars note that but for Moscow’s intervention, India may well have lost political ground in Jammu & Kashmir—or at least been forced into an unfavorable ceasefire.
This memory is not lost on New Delhi. Nor has India forgotten the numerous moments at the UN Security Council when Russia’s veto ensured India’s national interests were protected. In fact, Russia has used its UN veto more than half a dozen times since 1957 specifically in cases involving Kashmir or matters affecting India’s security. This steadfastness has shaped India’s long-standing diplomatic gratitude, and to this day, the Kremlin remains India’s most reliable Great Power supporter in multilateral forums.
India, in return, has neither treated Russia as a legacy friend nor as a dispensable one. Its consistent refusal to join Western sanctions regimes—whether after Crimea in 2014 or during the post-2022 American-led sanctions wave—speaks to New Delhi’s clarity: strategic autonomy cannot be compromised for momentary geopolitical fashion. When Washington imposed unprecedented sanctions on Moscow after 2022, India not only maintained its engagement with Russia but expanded its energy ties. At its peak in 2023–24, Russian crude accounted for over 40 percent of India’s oil imports—up from just 1 percent in early 2022. Despite immense pressure from the United States, India insisted that what matters is affordability, energy security, and national interest—not Western geopolitical preferences.
India has since moderately reduced these imports due to tariff changes and commercial dynamics, but the political message remains unmistakable: Russia is a friend India does not abandon.
It is in this context that the red-carpet welcome accorded to President Vladimir Putin in New Delhi on December 4, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal gesture of receiving him on the tarmac, must be understood. Modi’s words—describing the partnership as “time-tested” and one that has “greatly benefitted our people”—were not diplomatic niceties but a reiteration of a reality that has defined India’s foreign policy for more than seven decades.
Putin’s visit comes at a particularly complex moment in India–U.S. relations. American dissatisfaction over India’s long-term purchase of discounted Russian crude was only the beginning. President Trump’s return to Washington has been accompanied by what he calls a “fair trade doctrine,” under which India now faces among the world’s highest tariffs imposed by the United States, especially on key exports such as pharmaceuticals, specialty steel, and certain categories of machinery. Add to this the American unease about India’s continued defense posture vis-à-vis Russia, and the picture becomes clear: Indo-U.S. relations are currently undergoing a strain not seen in the last decade.
Yet even in this backdrop, India has chosen not to dilute its strategic engagement with Moscow. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has confirmed that potential Indian purchases of next-generation Russian fighter jets and ballistic missile systems will be a central agenda item during the Modi–Putin talks. While the U.S. may not welcome such deepening defense cooperation, the reality is that nearly 60–70 percent of India’s military platforms even today are of Russian origin. Whether it is the Su-30MKI fighters, T-90 tanks, the nuclear submarine Chakra, or the formidable S-400 air defense system, Russia remains India’s principal and most dependable weapons supplier. Joint ventures like BrahMos, the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile, further illustrate the depth of technological and strategic synergy that simply cannot be replicated overnight by any Western partner.
The timing of Putin’s visit also reflects a mutual understanding that the global order is in flux. For Russia, India remains one of the few large, independent, and rising powers that has not aligned itself with either the Western bloc or the Sino-Russian axis. For India, Russia remains a crucial pillar in maintaining a multipolar Asia and ensuring that New Delhi retains flexibility in balancing Western partnerships with its own national interests.
How America views this visit—and how it interprets the outcomes of the Modi–Putin dialogue—will be closely watched by the rest of the world. Washington has historically viewed India–Russia engagement through the lens of its own geopolitical struggles, whether during the Cold War or in the current era of great-power rivalry with China and Russia. But the United States must accept an essential truth: India does not believe in exclusive relationships. New Delhi’s global partnerships are guided by sovereignty, strategic autonomy, and the pursuit of a balanced multipolar order—not by pressure tactics or ideological camps.
India will continue to deepen ties with the United States in trade, technology, education, and defense interoperability. But that will not come at the cost of its historic and strategic relationship with Russia.
In fact, Putin’s 2025 visit may well become the moment India–Russia relations receive a fresh infusion of energy. Aside from defense ties, both sides are exploring expansion in the North–South Transport Corridor, cooperation in civil nuclear energy, space technology, and new investments in the Russian Far East—a region where India has already pledged significant economic participation. Cultural and educational exchanges, too, are likely to rise as Moscow views India as a long-term partner in the emerging non-West-led economic order.
What remains certain is that Putin’s visit will strengthen—not merely symbolize—the India–Russia partnership. In an era when alliances shift overnight and global politics is defined by volatility, the India–Russia relationship remains a model of consistency and trust. It has weathered wars, sanctions, diplomatic storms, and vast changes in leadership on both sides. And it has emerged stronger each time.
As the world watches Modi and Putin meet once again, the message is unmistakable: there are friendships in global diplomacy that are built not on convenience, but on conviction—and the India–Russia partnership is one of them.
The dictionary definition of a machine is ‘a piece of equipment with moving parts that is designed to do a particular job. It usually needs electricity, gas, steam etc. in order to work.’
Sometimes conveniently, mostly lazily and almost out of compulsion, we have tended to label Virat Kohli as a run-machine. How much further from the truth can we be?
Does Kohli need electricity or gas or steam? Really? Is he a lifeless, inanimate piece of equipment designed to do a particular job?
Virat Kohli is the living embodiment of passion. Of commitment and drive and desire, of the need to keep pushing the boundaries, to be the best version of himself day after day. He is his best judge and his worst critic. Yes, because he is as human as the rest of us, he is also affected by criticism, by censure, by what he and others of his ilk often refer to as ‘outside noise’. But in his heart of hearts, he is governed by what he thinks of himself, how he rates himself. ‘Outside noise’, be it approbation or otherwise, will affect his psyche, but not as much as his own reading of whether he is living up to the lofty standards he has set for himself over the last 17 years as an international cricketer.
Watching Kohli bat in the last six weeks or so, few would guess that he is retired internationally from two of the three formats. That, in a lot of ways, he is a part-time cricketer – no disrespect meant. In his last three outings in 50-over cricket, the only format in which he represents the country these days, he has made an unbeaten half-century and two blazing hundreds. On Wednesday when he brought up a 53rd ton, off a mere 90 deliveries without seemingly hitting a shot in anger, it marked a staggering 11th time he had smashed ODI centuries in successive innings.
Kohli is at that stage of his career where every run, forget about every three-figure knock, he conjures is a milestone of sorts, an extension of his own record. Before the three-match series against South Africa, he already boasted the most three-figure knocks in the history of the One-Day game, a massive 51. Kohli had gone past the great Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 centuries during India’s stirring charge to the final of the 50-over home World Cup two years back. In Dubai against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy league fixture in February, he drew abreast of Tendulkar for the most international centuries (51) in a single format. Now, after ODI hundred Nos. 52 and 53 on Sunday and Wednesday respectively, he has pulled further away from the rest; with 84 centuries across the three formats, he has only Tendulkar (100) ahead of him in the overall hundred-hitting stakes. It’s more than likely, given he only plays one format and 50-over matches don’t come along as frequently as the other two versions, that he will end up behind Tendulkar whenever he hangs up his boots, but that’s unlikely to occupy his mind space one bit.
A roller-coaster ride
It’s been a turbulent, tumultuous last 12 months for the 37-year-old from Delhi. An unbeaten second-innings century in a winning cause in Perth last November hinted at Kohli rekindling his romance with Australia, but his series unraveled spectacularly thereafter as an old failing — his vulnerability to balls in the corridor to which his bat appeared magnetically attracted — came back to haunt him. Kohli was out caught behind the wickets, either by the wicketkeeper or in the slip cordon, all eight times in Australia; if he was 31 rather than 36, he might have knuckled down to iron out that crease, like he had done after the England tour of 2014 when 10 Test innings brought him only 134 runs. But the passage of time and the changing of guard at the top of the Indian management tree, with Gautam Gambhir coming in as head coach to replace Rahul Dravid, potentially drove Kohli to retirement from Tests in May.
No one knew when he was pouched at second slip for six by Steve Smith pushing away from his body off the back foot against Scott Boland at the Sydney Cricket Ground on January 4 that it would be Kohli’s last Test innings. Perhaps Kohli himself wasn’t sure at the time, and there appeared no indication of what was going through his mind when he played two stunning hands in the Champions Trophy, following up his 100 not out against Pakistan with a pivotal 84 in the successful semifinal chase against old nemesis Australia. His travails Down Under seemed behind him and he seemed to be enjoying being in the middle as much as he always had, which was why it came as a massive surprise when he walked away into the Test sunset a week after his old pal Rohit Sharma had pulled the plug on his five-day career.
Ro-Ko a package deal
Kohli and Rohit’s cricketing journeys have run parallel for 17 years now. Rohit was the first to debut, in June 2007 in Ireland on a limited-overs sojourn; it wasn’t until 14 months later that Kohli earned his first India cap, in an ODI series in Sri Lanka. Kohli went on to carve a magnificent path in Test cricket, especially during a golden period from the end of 2014 to the end of 2019, while Rohit established himself as arguably the greatest limited-overs batter of all time, backed up by an unmatched three double hundreds in ODIs and five international centurions in the 20-over iteration.
Both of them called it quits from the 20-over game at the highest level following India’s title charge in Bridgetown in June last year. There was, therefore, a certain added poignancy to them retiring from Test cricket within a week of each other, leaving them to fly the flag only in the 50-over game where both are behemoths bar none.
In ways unimaginable even a couple of years back, they are now inextricably intertwined, almost one soul in two bodies. They have been made a package deal by their fans; Kohli is a touch ahead in the popularity stakes but Rohit is well-liked and respected, as much for molding the next generation of superstars as his propensity to lead from the front and set the example that others have striven to emulate.
When they were picked for a three-match series in Australia in October, there was massive interest. Were they in the plans for the 2027 50-over World Cup? Oh, never mind if it is two years away. Are they on notice? On probation? Will they be judged on every failure while every success is taken for granted?
It certainly appeared so, more for Kohli than Rohit, when he failed to trouble the scorers in the first two games in Australia, in Perth and then Adelaide. The whispers were beginning to pick up momentum when he produced a sublime unbeaten 74, playing second fiddle to centurion Rohit in another of their three-figure alliances (20 at the last count).
In the last week, it has looked as if Kohli hasn’t been away at all. The two failures in Australia were not due to lack of preparation, but no amount of work in the nets can compensate for actual match-play. The Perth game on October 19 was Kohli’s first competitive hit since the final of the IPL 2025 on June 3. Even the most gifted, intense and unyielding competitor can’t buck such odds.
Better off for the time spent in the crease in Sydney, Kohli has been an unstoppable force against the South Africans. In Ranchi and then Raipur, he entertained and enthralled; in the first game, he put on a six-hitting exhibition, smashing seven of them on his way to a 120-ball 135. In Raipur on Wednesday, vintage Kohli was back in business. His hundred came off a mere 90 deliveries, yet this was no boundary-laden blitzkrieg. Seven fours and two sixes meant nine deliveries brought him 40 runs; the other 60 still came off just 81 balls and were eked out through excellent running between the wickets.
Kohli has always been both a terrific judge of a run and outstanding between the sticks. The tempestuous, excitable version would expect others to keep pace with him which, unless one was Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was well-nigh impossible. As he matured, Kohli began to run at his partners’ pace. He now finds himself in a team where apart from Rohit, everyone else is younger, several considerably so. Yet, it can be said with complete confidence that Kohli will outpace every single one of them comfortably.
After Saturday’s final ODI against Temba Bavuma’s side in Visakhapatnam, India will play three 50-over games against New Zealand at home in the middle of January. In that gap, Kohli will play for Delhi in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy while India and South Africa fine-tune their preparations for the T20 World Cup with a five-match shortest-format showdown.
After the Kiwi ODIs, the focus will shift to 20-over cricket in the form of the World Cup, to be followed by Season 19 of the IPL. Kohli will watch the former on television and hope to help his side, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, mount a successful title defense in the latter. He will, therefore, be game-ready when the team travels to England, where he now resides on a semi-permanent basis, in mid-July for three 50-over outings.
Who knows what after that? You don’t need to know Kohli intimately to figure out that he won’t overstay his welcome. If he feels the fire is dimming, the intensity is fading and the desire drops even a touch, he will instantly pull the plug on his career. Whether that is in 2026, 2027 or beyond shouldn’t really be our concern. All we can do is enjoy the Kohli magic, celebrate a generational genius and not get caught up in the ‘outside noise’ that we ourselves are generating.
And yes, can we also please stop referring to him as a run-machine?
(R Kaushik is a sportswriter and biographer. He has written a book on Rohit Sharma- The Rise of the Hitman : The Rohit Sharma Story. The book is available at Amazon)
In the 21st-century imbalance of power, Europe and Nato have neither the arms nor the wealth to impel Russia or the US to take its peace settlement seriously
By Martin Kettle
The failure of this week’s peace talks between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff fits into a now well-established pattern of standoffs on Ukraine during Trump’s second term. But the dynamic that produced these talks may be becoming more entrenched. The US and Russian interests driving the process have not changed, while the conflict on the ground is intensifying. The lack of progress this week means there will be another attempt to end the war soon, and perhaps another after that, until, one day, there is some kind of US-backed deal to halt the conflict on terms broadly favoring Russia.
The geopolitical algorithm driving this effort is too consistent to ignore. It has been repeated ever since Trump re-entered the White House in January. On the campaign trail, Trump had claimed he could stop the war in a day. That was never going to happen. But from 12 February onwards, when Trump first talked directly to Putin about Ukraine, the intention and approach have not altered. There is no reason to suppose they will do so now. Indeed, Tuesday’s impasse may spur them on again.
The internal logic of the interactions that have brought us to this point is familiar by now. Trump refuses to give arms to Ukraine. Instead he attempts a bilateral deal with Putin to stop the war at Ukraine’s territorial expense. Russia bombs Ukraine and makes attritional battlefield progress. Ukraine and its other allies mobilize to challenge any emerging pro-Russian deal. The US rebalances its plans to take account of the objections. Talks take place. Putin says no deal. The war continues, but so does the diplomacy.
As this process repeats itself, as it will, one of two things will happen. Either the process will be recognized as achieving nothing, or some aspect of it will be changed to make an outcome more likely. The first option, abandonment of the process, is a possibility, but this would mean humiliation for Trump. It would also mean the war would intensify and become more lethal, destructive and destabilizing. Pressures to stop it would thus recur, leading to the resumption of the US diplomatic effort, but from a weaker position than today.
The second option, the alteration or bypassing of some aspect of the process, therefore seems more likely. This inevitably places Nato and Europe firmly in the crosshairs of Moscow, in particular, and also of Washington. It explains why the Kremlin hinted yesterday that there were still agreements worth making – agreements, in other words, between Russia and the US, from which Europe is excluded. Putin could not be clearer that he sees Europe as Trump’s weak link. “Europe is preventing the US administration from achieving peace on Ukraine,” he said before the talks with Witkoff this week. “They are on the side of war,” he said a little later. “Russia does not intend to fight Europe, but if Europe starts, we are ready right now.”
Some of this is nonsense. But Putin’s key insight is right. Europe – more accurately Nato minus the US – is indeed managing to frustrate Trump from making the kind of deal with Putin that he wants. The Nato allies’ consistent dedication to this task has not been widely celebrated, for fear of provoking Trump, but it is impossible to miss. The effort has been intense, from the moment that Trump and JD Vance publicly abused Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his Oval Office visit on 28 February. It has also been more or less successful.
This so-called “coalition of the willing” has the power to wound US-Russia plans, but it lacks the power to shape them. The coalition involves most European nations, plus Canada, all of whom have committed to material support for postwar Ukraine. Its aims have been pursued ad hoc, and partly within Nato, as in yesterday’s foreign ministers’ meeting at Nato HQ in Brussels, from which the US secretary of state Marco Rubio was conspicuously absent.
Either way, the European scramble on Ukraine’s behalf has repeatedly managed to hold the line against Trump and Putin. It did so again this week when the Witkoff plan was tweaked before the Putin meeting. Hugging Zelenskyy closer has been a key part of this effort ever since the Oval Office disaster. It would be surprising if Zelenskyy was not being intensively advised and consulted by the allies at almost every turn. I would bet that, if we ever get access to a log of his messages, memos, meetings and travels, we will find that Keir Starmer’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, plays a big role in this effort.
Yet this cannot and will not continue indefinitely. The central problem for both Ukraine and Europe is that the 21st-century imbalance of power is turned against them. In this new imbalance, Europe and Nato have not enough arms, power or wealth to leverage an alternative peace settlement that Russia and the US are compelled to take seriously or accept. The postwar idea of the west may not be dead, but it is in intensive care. European and some American surgeons are battling with all the skill at their disposal to keep it alive. The truth, though, is that Trump could very easily pull the plug tomorrow.
If that were to happen, the danger of Russian troops eventually marching down Whitehall might remain remote. But the threat to Kyiv’s main street, Khreshchatyk, would undoubtedly increase. Whether Trump grasps this, or cares, is hard to say. It is not impossible that an effective Ukrainian government, whether headed by Zelenskyy or not, could continue to function and win the financial and military support of international backers to begin reconstruction. Much would depend on whether the west’s frozen Russian assets, worth £253bn, ended up in Kyiv or are returned to Moscow.
Either way, Nato could then prove to be yesterday’s solution to tomorrow’s threat. The Nato nations would all still have their weapons and armed forces. They would retain their commitment to an independent Ukraine and to their common values. They would also continue to possess what the London-based historian Georgios Varouxakis, author of the widely praised The West: The History of an Idea, calls their “capacity for self-criticism and self-correction”. But the strategic self-correction required of Europe in the absence of a fully committed US partner would be arduous, and could involve a price tag that few European nations and voters would be willing to pay.
It may not be true, yet, that Trump’s US has reached a fateful fork in the road, where it decides to choose between Europe and Ukraine on the one hand, and Russia on the other. But that place and that moment are getting closer than at any time since 1945. The looming tragedy is that history has conferred upon Europe a role in support of Ukraine that it is ultimately unable to fulfil to anything like the degree required.
The exceptional amity heralds new domains of strategic cooperation, with the potential to anchor bilateral, regional and global developments in a more consequential manner
By Mahesh Sachdev
As adrenaline-high at the Saudi-American Summit last week demonstrated, the 80-year-old bilateral alliance remains perhaps the oldest transactional deal still going strong. It predates the establishment of post-Second World War global architectures such as the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Bretton Woods Institutions. It was conceived as a secret “oil-for-security” strategic partnership signed on Valentine’s Day 1945 between U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and King Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rehman al-Saud on the USS Quincy in the Suez Canal Area. Originally intended to last 60 years, it was renewed in 2005.
Thanks to the exceptional amity between U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), this arrangement is currently being reset to the new domains of strategic cooperation, with the potential to anchor bilateral, regional and global developments in a more consequential manner.
The trajectory of ties
During the past 80 years, U.S.-Saudi ties have not always had smooth sailing. First, thanks to shale technology, the U.S. has become the world’s largest producer of crude and a significant exporter. While this has reduced the commercial content of the relationship, the U.S.’s exports have remained steady, leading to a decline in the bilateral merchandise trade and a balance swinging in America’s favor. As Saudi Arabia’s trading partner, the U.S. now ranks below China and India.
Historically, the ties came under strain during the Ramadan War of 1973, when Saudi Arabia joined an Arab oil embargo. In the mid-1980s, the Saudis surprised the Americans by buying intermediate-range ballistic missiles from China, a country they did not even recognize then. There have been tensions as the American military supplies were staunched during the Yemen war, affecting Saudi offensive and defensive capabilities against the Houthis.
The assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi commentator working with The Washington Post, in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018 jolted ties, and the Biden presidency initially decided to keep MbS at arm’s-length. The friction pushed the Saudis into diversifying their ties with China and Russia.
In December 2022, China’s President Xi Jinping visited Riyadh and held three separate summits with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Arab and Muslim countries, respectively. Later, Beijing also facilitated the resumption of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Since late 2023, the U.S. support for Israel’s brutal military campaign in Gaza has also made it difficult for Riyadh to turn a new page in bilateral ties.
The Saudis have resisted U.S. pressure to formally recognize Israel, pre-conditioning it on the creation of a pathway to Palestinian statehood, which Israel has ruled out.
New contours under the Trump presidency
There has been a positive sea change in bilateral ties since Mr. Trump took over the U.S. presidency this year. His first visit of his second term abroad was to Saudi Arabia in May 2025, where an agreement to supply $142 billion worth of military equipment was secured. The new contours of this new relationship were in evidence at the no-holds-barred state visit. It included a moving guard of honor, a fly-past, a private lunch and a 300-guest banquet, both hosted by Mr. Trump, who also attended the investment forum at which deals worth $270 billion were signed.
On his part, MbS readily agreed to raise the promised Saudi investments in the U.S. economy from $600 billion to $1 trillion without a fixed time frame. The amount is nearly as big as the country’s GDP and the entire corpus of the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which already has 40% of its foreign investments in the U.S. economy. The groundbreaking Strategic Defense Agreement was signed, formally designating Saudi Arabia as a “major non-NATO ally” and committing the U.S. to actively assist Saudi Arabia if it came under an attack.
The two sides also made tangible progress towards collaboration in civil nuclear energy and the supply of state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence (AI) chips. Given the Trumpian propensity for “truthful hyperbole” and Saudi economic stringency, observers are skeptical about all key promises made during the visit being fully realized.
Moreover, the bilateral differences on basic issues such as the global oil glut, Riyadh-Tel Aviv reconciliation, Iran, and the Kingdom’s drive towards strategic autonomy were papered over during the Summit, which was conspicuous by the absence of any final communiqué. The visit can, nevertheless, be considered as a qualified bilateral success, particularly as it managed to bury the past ghost issues.
The robust revival of the U.S.-Saudi ties in Trump 2.0 is bound to have a regional impact. Under MbS, Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s largest economy, has abandoned its low-key diplomatic profile, adopting a more assertive and visible pursuit of national interests. This process has accelerated after the two-year-long Israeli military campaign that has subdued Iran, the Kingdom’s long-standing rival in the region and the Islamic world.
MbS has already persuaded Mr. Trump to drop sanctions against Syria’s new regime and has asked for stronger American intervention to end the Sudanese civil war. Even the Iranian President has sought the MbS facilitation of the resumption of nuclear talks with Washington. The robust endorsement by the White House during the recent visit would further empower MbS, who at 40 years could be around for decades, making him an indispensable, long-term U.S. interlocutor as the region’s geopolitical architecture gets reconfigured.
While the visit was silent on global issues, there are signs of subterranean bilateral coordination. Although oil has largely disappeared as the driver for bilateral economic synergy, the Saudi economy continues to be highly dependent on oil export revenues. Moreover, as recent U.S. sanctions against the two Russian oil majors demonstrated, Washington intends to continue its dominance of the global oil market. Both Saudis and Americans want the oil price to be at a moderate, sustainable level. The concerted American actions on sanctions against Iran, Venezuela and two Russian oil majors can only help stem the emerging supply-side oil glut, shore up the price and create market space for higher exports by both Saudi Arabia and the U.S. For the U.S., reinforced ties with Saudi Arabia would also stave off the recent encroachments by China and Russia on its turf, and complement its regional Pax Americana.
Impact on India
The Washington Summit does have several implications for India. First, it may provide advanced U.S. military equipment access to Pakistan, with which Riyadh concluded a strategic mutual defense agreement in September 2025, apparently with the U.S. nod-and-wink.
Second, although India, as the world’s third-largest oil importer, would prefer oil prices to be low, moderation and stability in the oil market may still be preferable as it navigates for alternative sources to Russian supplies.
Third, soaring Saudi ambitions for its post-oil Vision-2030, such as AI data centers, may create economic opportunities for India.
Fourth, curbing China’s foray into Saudi Arabia may open the door wider for India. India also needs to prioritize entering into a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Saudi Arabia.
Lastly, the emerging modus vivendi with Israel may also facilitate the work on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, which transits through Saudi Arabia. At a different level, White House’s differential treatment of MbS shows that its single-minded pursuit of economic transactions continues to trump all previous qualms, such as human rights and proliferation concerns, may light India’s pathway to an economic peace with the Americans.
The evident MbS-Trump bonhomie during the White House Summit signals the U.S. reclaiming primacy in Riyadh. The locus of the relationship has, nevertheless, shifted from the past “oil-for-security” paradigm. As the new, more nebulous drivers congeal and Saudi Arabia asserts its sovereign autonomy, the alliance enters an uncharted territory. While much may remain unaltered, it would, nevertheless, be fascinating to watch its progression.
(Mahesh Sachdev is a retired Indian Ambassador, specializing in the Arab world and oil issues)
Moscow needs partners who will support it in shaping the global system
By Nivedita Kapoor
Russian President Vladimir Putin is in New Delhi on a state visit for the 23rd India-Russia summit. Amid an ongoing war and an unstable world order, what does the special and privileged strategic partnership mean for Russia today? A look at Russian official documents offers a hint.
The 2021 National Security Strategy of Russia marked a small but significant change in its foreign policy objectives. It noted the development of a strategic partnership with China and India in the same sentence, unlike previous versions when the point about India came after China. The latest foreign policy concept, released in 2023, repeated this trend, mentioning China and India together in the subheading on regional tracks for Russian priorities.
This seemingly minor change pointed to a deeper concern in the Russian administration about the rise of China. While relations with the rising power had never been better, the asymmetries in the partnership were all too visible. Russia’s recognition of this imbalance pointed to how it sought to address it — by strengthening ties with India.
But Russia’s policy choices subverted its intentions, as the war with Ukraine in 2022 made China the most promising partner to replace the loss of European markets (except in oil trade). The situation revealed the skewed nature of Russia’s broader engagement with the Asia-Pacific. Trade with China soared to $244.8 billion last year, making it Russia’s leading trade partner, constituting over a third of its foreign trade turnover, with India a distant second at 8.8%.
With an economy under stress and resources directed to executing its war, Russia now faces the challenge of reducing its over-dependence on China. The cost is not just economic but also geopolitical, where China’s influence across Eurasia has been expanding. While the strategic value Beijing and Moscow have for each remains high, providing a strong basis to their relationship, the fact that China, as a power, is today in a different league is not lost on anyone.
In this situation, it is not surprising that the need to further the partnership with India acquires a renewed logic for Russia, providing an opportunity to balance its pivot to the East, vital for its foreign policy ambitions. The visit offers a chance to use Russia’s strengths to diversify economic ties in areas like agriculture, infrastructure, shipbuilding, space and nuclear energy. Longer-term sustenance of bilateral ties necessitates the continuation of defense-export contracts, maintenance of energy ties and identification of new areas of economic cooperation. Moscow seeks to secure Indian support for its multilateral agenda in non-western institutions, and also to reduce the prospects of one power dominating their functioning.
This bilateral agenda serves another purpose — that of underpinning the Russian worldview about itself, which reflects in its foreign policy. Since 2022, Moscow has positioned itself as aligned with the non-western world, where it occupies a key position in an emerging multipolar order. The Russian narrative of the decline of the West rests on the extent to which the non-western world pursues an independent foreign policy, wherein Russia is a valued partner, reflecting its reach in the Global South.
The other dominant worldviews currently guiding foreign policy — Russia as an anti-colonial power, a conservative civilizational-state espousing traditional values and a Eurasian power — all require recognition from the external world towards whom this narrative is directed. Without a strong backing from India, these Russian attempts to reorder its status in the international system would receive a setback.
Moscow’s self-identification as a great power, which paradoxically can no longer shape the contours of a new world order on its own, entails building partnerships with those who will have a role in shaping the evolving international system. In this pursuit, the role of India as one of the leading candidates cannot be denied.
(Nivedita Kapoor is Assistant Professor, Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, Higher School of Economics, Moscow.)
Russia didn’t support China in UNSC after revocation of Art 370
By Asoke Mukerji
The 23rd India-Russia summit on December 4-5 is a watershed moment for the two countries’ “special and privileged partnership.” The resilience of the summit mechanism demonstrates the high degree of trust between the two, enabling them to navigate India-Russia relations in an increasingly turbulent world.
The focus of the bilateral partnership is mutually beneficial cooperation. Defense and energy initiatives agreed upon during the previous summits have contributed to India’s national interests. During Op Sindoor in May, the jointly manufactured Su-30MKI aircraft and BrahMos missiles, as well as the S-400 air defense system purchased from Russia in 2018, played a critical role in India’s robust response to cross-border terrorism. Russian-built stealth frigates inducted into the Navy in the western Indian Ocean protect key sea lanes transporting India’s trade through the Suez Canal. AK-203 rifles are being manufactured through a joint venture in Amethi for the Army. The summit is expected to enhance such cooperation.
While the fate of Russian oil exports to India dominates the headlines, the focus will be on energy joint investments, which provides a long-term sustainable framework for strategic cooperation. These include Indian investments in Russia’s oilfields and Russian investments in India’s oil-refining sector. Russia is the only country that has invested with technology in India’s nuclear energy sector after the 2008 Indo-US Civil Nuclear Deal. The Kudankulam NPP in Tamil Nadu provides 2000 MW of power to Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karnataka and Kerala. The summit is expected to consider the proposal for Russian collaboration in the manufacture of small modular reactors in India.
Two-way trade until March 2025 stood at $68.7 billion, of which Russian oil exports were valued at $63.8 billion. Diversification of bilateral trade is needed to achieve the proposed target of $100 billion by 2030. The negotiation of a Eurasian Economic Union-India Free Trade Agreement, which began in August 2025, and the use of national currencies to finance bilateral trade and investment are two options. A decision to allow a designated Indian commercial bank to operate in Russia along the lines of Russia’s Sberbank, which has been operating in India since 2010, will provide support for bilateral economic relations. This includes integrating opportunities for digital economic cooperation and a future India-Russia digital corridor.
India’s partnership with Russia (and Iran) in connectivity projects in Eurasia is hostage to unilateral western sanctions on Russia, Iran and some Indian entities. This has prevented connectivity to boost economic relations.
At the same time, the Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor has become functional, providing another connectivity route linking India to Russia’s Far East and the Arctic. Maritime cooperation has become a new dimension of India-Russia strategic partnership. President Putin was the only P5 leader who attended the online UNSC meeting on maritime security chaired by PM Modi in August 2021. In November 2025, connectivity, skill development, shipbuilding and the blue economy were identified as priorities for cooperation.
The number of Indians studying medicine in Russia has grown from 19,700 in 2019 to over 31,000 in 2024. The two sides are negotiating a labor mobility agreement for the employment of Indian workers in Russia. A holistic framework for educational, cultural, tourism and youth cooperation, proposed in 2020 as the Ganga-Volga Dialogue initiative, needs to be revived.
Russia has endorsed India becoming a permanent member of a reformed UN Security Council (UNSC). This requires an amendment of the UN Charter, overcoming the veto power of the P5, to make the UN more effective and meet India’s call for “reformed multilateralism”.
Until that happens, Russia’s strategic partnership with India would play a role in safeguarding India’s core interests. This was evident in August 2019 after the revocation of Article 370, when Russia did not support China’s attempt to revive the “India-Pak Question” in the UNSC.
Putin proposed the “indivisible security” of Eurasia in June 2024 as the fulcrum of a multipolar world order. Today, as the US and China are forging a “spheres-of-influence” based G-2, engaging with Russia on how to sustain indivisible security in a multipolar Asia should be a priority for India.
SAN FRANCISCO (TIP) : Aman Sanger, the 25-year-old co-founder of the AI-powered coding platform Cursor, is back in the global spotlight after his company’s valuation climbed to an estimated $29.3 billion following a major funding round announced this month. The raise, reported to be about $2.3 billion, has made Sanger one of the youngest self-made billionaires in the technology industry.
Sanger co-founded Anysphere—the company that created Cursor—in 2022 with three fellow MIT graduates: Michael Truell, Sualeh Asif, and Arvid Lunnemark. The team began building Cursor out of their MIT dorm rooms, aiming to rethink how software is written in an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. Cursor uses large language models to generate, edit, and debug code from natural-language prompts, allowing developers to move faster and automate routine engineering tasks. The platform has seen rapid adoption worldwide, with industry reports suggesting it crossed $100 million in annual recurring revenue within just over a year of launch. Several outlets now estimate that the company is approaching $1 billion in annualized revenue.
The latest funding round drew investment from global heavyweights, including Nvidia, Google, Accel, and Andreessen Horowitz. Based on publicly reported shareholdings, Sanger’s roughly 4.5 percent stake places his personal net worth at more than $1.3 billion.
In recent interviews, Sanger has said that despite the soaring valuation, the company remains focused on reinvention and rapid iteration, noting that the pace of competition in AI demands constant vigilance.
With Cursor’s meteoric rise, Sanger and his co-founders—Truell, Asif, and Lunnemark—have emerged as the newest faces of Silicon Valley’s AI boom, and their next moves are being closely watched across the global tech industry.
TRENTON, NJ (TIP): Mamta Singh has made history in Jersey City, becoming the first Indian American ever elected to public office in one of the United States’ most prominent Indian American hubs. Singh won a Council At-Large seat, marking a breakthrough moment for a community that has long been central to the city’s identity but had never held a seat in the City Hall.
Her election came during a night of sweeping political shifts, with reformist James Solomon winning the mayoral runoff.
Singh has strong roots in grassroots organizing and nonprofit leadership. She is the founder of JCFamilies, one of Jersey City’s most active community groups working with women, children, and working parents. She also launched Indians In Jersey City, an organization that supports immigrant families and keeps Indian cultural traditions alive through festivals, gatherings, and community forums.
Her work over the years turned her into a trusted figure within the diaspora, helping new immigrants navigate schools, services, and the broader challenges of settling into American city life.
Her political campaign
Running on James Solomon’s ‘Team Solomon’ slate alongside Rolando Lavarro and Michael Griffin, Singh campaigned on stabilizing property taxes, improving recreation opportunities for young people, and strengthening support systems for working families. Her message of representation and community-focused governance resonated widely, especially among Indian American families who have lived in the city for decades without political visibility.
Jersey City is home to tens of thousands of Indian Americans, making it one of the largest Indian American population centers in the country. Despite this demographic strength, the community had never elected one of its own until now.
PENNSYLVANIA: Penn State University’s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences has appointed Indian American geospatial specialist Siddharth “Sid” Pandey to the Graduates of Earth and Mineral Sciences (GEMS) board of directors for a three-year term.
Composed of 16 members — 15 plus the immediate past president, the GEMS board provides leadership and programming opportunities for the GEMS Alumni Society. Pandey joins the board with Quentin Lawson-Parchment, office engineer at Promatech Inc, also appointed as a new member, according to a university release. Pandey earned his bachelor’s degree in geography in 2014. He also received a Master of Professional Studies degree in geographic information systems (GIS) from the University of Maryland.
Currently a manager at Deloitte & Touche LLP in the location intelligence practice, Pandey has more than 10 years of experience helping organizations make data-driven decisions with solutions leveraging geospatial data and technology. He also serves on the board of directors for the Geospatial Professional Network (GPN) and previously served a 3-year term on the GPN’s Vanguard Cabinet. He was recognized in 2018 in the xyHt magazine’s “40 Under 40” list of remarkable geospatial professionals. Geospatial World named him one of its “50 Rising Stars” in the geospatial industry in 2021 and he was listed in xyHt magazine’s “22 Young Geospatial Professionals to Watch in 2022.” He was one of the GPN’s Young Professional of the Year award recipients in 2022 and most recently, the GPN Leadership Award in 2023. “This opportunity aligns perfectly with my passion for advancing the geospatial industry, supporting emerging professionals and my dedication to fostering a vibrant and engaged alumni community,” Pandey said. “Joining the GEMS Board allows me to give back to the institution that played a pivotal role in my career and also enables me to contribute to the success and growth of current and future students in the field.”
NEW YORK (TIP): Udit Gupta, an Indian American assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Cornell Tech, has received an inaugural AI and Climate Fast Grant to explore strategies to reduce energy use in AI industries and to integrate AI in environmental research.
He is one of eight Cornell research team chosen to receive an inaugural round of $10,000 to $25,000 grant funding to support research at the intersection of AI and climate science under The 2030 Project: A Cornell Climate Initiative, according to a media release.
Recent work by Cornell Engineering researchers found that at the current rate of AI growth, by 2030, AI would contribute between 24 million and 44 million metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and use between 731 million and 1.125 billion cubic meters of water.
The Cornell AI Initiative, launched in 2022, is a university-wide radical collaboration that seeks to inform basic research into AI and to leverage AI and machine learning technologies to solve problems across many fields. Gupta seeks to improve the sustainability, efficiency and scalability of AI with “EcoGPT,” a generative AI interface that will enable users to parlay minimally slower AI response times into smaller carbon footprints.
“Industry benchmarks show that relaxing output generation by small delays – even a couple hundred milliseconds – can improve overall system throughput and energy efficiency by 2.5 times, highlighting a steep trade-off between lowered response times and system efficiency,” Gupta said.
“Our EcoGPT user studies will produce the first quantitative dataset on user preferences for ‘green AI,’ providing companies with the empirical evidence needed to design practical and sustainable service tiers.”
His research lies at the intersection of computer architecture, systems, machine learning, and environmental sustainability. He focuses on co-designing solutions across the computing stack — including applications, algorithms, systems, architecture, circuits, and devices — to enhance the performance, efficiency, and sustainability of emerging technologies.
Gupta’s work emphasizes practical impact, interdisciplinary collaboration, and pathfinding. He led the characterization of industry-scale neural personalized recommendation models, shaping future AI hardware design and specialized systems research.
His team has developed open-source benchmarks and tools, now standardized in community efforts like MLPerf. Using these benchmarks, he has co-designed hardware and software systems that enable high-performance, efficient, and scalable AI, resulting in significant industry-wide resource savings. His research also underscores the importance of integrating environmental sustainability as a core principle in systems design, identifying key challenges and opening new research avenues. His work has been featured in Bloomberg Green, the Guardian, and CNBC. He has received accolades, including IEEE Micro Top Picks in 2022 and 2023, as well as an Honorable Mention in 2021.
His research earned best paper nominations at PACT 2019 and DAC 2018. His dissertation was recognized with the SIGARCH Outstanding PhD Dissertation Honorable Mention in 2023 and the MICRO Outstanding PhD Dissertation Honorable Mention, the same year. Gupta holds a PhD in computer science from Harvard University and a BSc in electrical and computer engineering from Cornell University.
NEW YORK (TIP) : An Indian-origin man who entered the US illegally three years ago has been charged with homicide after two persons were killed when a semi-truck he was driving collided with their car. Rajinder Kumar, 32, has been charged with criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangering. William Micah Carter, 25, and Jennifer Lynn Lower, 24, were killed in the road accident.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged an arrest detainer for Kumar.
The Oregon State Police said its officers responded to a two-vehicle crash in Deschutes County on the night of November 24.
Preliminary investigation indicated that a freightliner commercial motor vehicle and trailer operated by Kumar was stopped in a jackknifed position, blocking both lanes of travel. A car being driven by Carter struck the trailer of the freightliner as it was stopped perpendicular to the lanes of travel at highway speeds. Both Carter and Lower were declared dead at the scene while Kumar was reportedly uninjured.
“The highway was impacted for approximately seven hours during the on-scene investigation. Dark conditions and a lack of active emergency warning equipment is being considered a primary contributor to the crash,” The Oregon State Police said.
Kumar was arrested for Criminally Negligent Homicide and Reckless Endangering and lodged in the Deschutes County Jail.
Describing Kumar as a “criminal illegal” from India, DHS said he entered the US illegally near Lukeville, Arizona, on November 28, 2022.
Kumar was released into “our country under the Biden administration and issued a commercial driver’s license by Gavin Newsom’s Department of Motor Vehicles. How many more senseless tragedies must take place before sanctuary politicians stop allowing illegal aliens to dangerously operate semi-trucks on America’s roads,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. This is the fourth instance in recent months where Indians who entered the US illegally have been involved in dangerous and fatal highway crashes while driving trucks.
In August, ICE lodged an arrest detainer for Harjinder Singh following his arrest for three counts of vehicular homicide while driving a semi-truck in Florida. The same month, ICE arrested Partap Singh, who caused a multi-car pileup while driving a commercial 18-wheeler in California. The accident left 5-year-old Dalilah Coleman with critical, life-altering injuries. In October, ICE lodged an arrest detainer for Jashanpreet Singh, who killed three people in California while driving an 18-wheeler under the influence.
OMAHA (TIP) : The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) has named Indian American scholar Gurpreet S. Dhillon, the next dean of the College of Business Administration (CBA), effective Jan. 12, 2026.
A Panjab University graduate, Dhillon currently serves as the G. Brint Ryan Endowed Chair of AI and Cybersecurity at the University of North Texas. The appointment is pending approval by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents, according to a university release.
With more than two decades of international leadership and research experience. Dhillon says his vision is to shape a business school that redefines the connection between business, technology, and society. In a world increasingly defined by AI, cybersecurity, and global change, he aims “to foster an innovative, multidisciplinary environment that prepares students to navigate the challenges of a digital economy with skill, integrity, and purpose.” “Dr. Dhillon brings a rare blend of scholarly distinction, innovative vision, and global leadership,” said Phil He, Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. “His work at the intersection of business, technology, and society, combined with his commitment to community and workforce development, positions him exceptionally well to advance UNO’s metropolitan mission.”
“UNO’s metropolitan mission and its commitments to access, innovation, and community engagement align deeply with my professional values,” said Dhillon. “Business education must prepare students to lead in an era defined by digital transformation, global interdependence, and rapid technological change,” he said. “I look forward to working with faculty, staff, students, and community partners to create opportunities that elevate both the region and our graduates.”
Over the past two decades, Dhillon has held academic appointments and leadership roles across the United States, Europe, and Asia, building a distinguished record in business education, research leadership, and multidisciplinary innovation.
He Earned a PhD in Information Systems from the London School of Economics and an Honorary Doctorate from Örebro University, Sweden.
A Biology and Chemistry graduate from Panjab University Honors School, India, he also has an Operations Management degree from Punjabi University, India. Dhillon has authored more than a dozen books, including a best-selling graduate textbook on cybersecurity and published over 100 research papers across top-tier academic journals. His research has featured in national and international media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, CNN, NBC News, and NPR. Recognized among the top 2% of researchers in his discipline by Stanford University, Dhillon is ranked in the top 0.05% of global scholars by Scholar GPS. He holds the No. 29 global ranking in Information Security for career-long scholarly impact. Dhillon succeeds Interim Dean Steve Schulz, who has led the college for the past year.
NEW YORK / PATIALA (TIP) : Guru Nanak Dev University, on November 29, celebrated the appointment of its distinguished alumnus and current Professor of Eminence, Jaspreet Singh, an attorney based in the US, in the Transition Advisory Council of the US state of New Jersey. He is the only Sikh and first Punjabi immigrant to be inducted into the incoming administration’s core advisory structure.
The Transition Advisory Council has been constituted by Governor-Elect of New Jersey, Mikie Sherrill, to guide key governance, policy and administrative priorities as she prepares to assume office. Jaspreet Singh, who migrated to the USA decades ago, and has risen to prominence in the local community in New Jersey, has expertise in immigration law. “His inclusion signals strong recognition of his professional expertise, public service, and community leadership in the United States,” said VC Prof Karamjeet Singh, who had conferred him the position of Professor of Eminence at the GNDU. Jaspreet Singh studied law at the university and also donated Rs 3 crore to set up the Guru Nanak Chair at university.
Prof Karamjeet said that New Jersey is home to some of the world’s most respected academic and research institutions, including Ivy League Princeton University, historically associated with Albert Einstein. “The appointment of a GNDU alumnus to such an important policy body underscores the global impact and excellence of GNDU graduates. This is a proud moment for Guru Nanak Dev University and for Punjab. The appointment of our alumnus, Attorney Jaspreet Singh, as the only Sikh in New Jersey’s incoming administration, reflects the university’s growing global footprint and its ability to nurture leaders who excel internationally with integrity and vision,” he said.
MELBOURNE (TIP): A 19-year-old Sikh paramedic student, Prabhjeet Gill of Monash University in Australia, won a case against Ambulance Victoria. He was asked to shave off his beard before the first day of his on-the-job training to meet PPE-mask requirements.
After he filed a formal complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission, Ambulance Victoria revised its policy to allow cultural or religious beards. Gill had requested permission to use the “Singh Thattha method,” an alternative for bearded individuals that allows them to wear a medical mask with the help of an elastic band. Unwilling to compromise, the student accused Ambulance Victoria of “discrimination on the grounds of race and religion” and lodged a complaint with Australian Human Rights Commission. The case drew widespread attention. Gill said the beard was “part of his identity,” and that having to shave would undermine his religious beliefs.
In a letter to the commission on November 24, Ambulance Victoria acknowledged the concerns raised by the student and Ambulance Victoria’s failure to adopt his preferred method of mask fitting. “Perhaps unbeknownst to Mr Gill, Ambulance Victoria has reconsidered its position regarding the ‘Singh Thattha’ method of mask fitting for PPE (personal protective equipment) and has recently engaged with Monash Health to assist with this method of mask fitting upon request by an AV employee,” the statement said.
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