The Civil Aviation Ministry and the DGCA are actively discussing to make psychoactive substance testing standards for all commercial pilots.
Air India has suspended a pilot after he failed a breath analyser test at Zurich airport, prompting the airline to reinforce stringent regulatory compliance and accountability measures following recent safety incidents.
An Air India Airbus A320 experienced a near-simultaneous loss of all three hydraulic systems mid-flight, causing an altitude upset and injuring 24 people. A preliminary investigation revealed the pilot-in-command tested positive for a psychoactive substance post-flight, leading to their termination, while the technical aspects of the incident are still under scrutiny.
The Federation of Indian Pilots has requested the DGCA to increase random drug testing for pilots, aiming to enhance aviation safety.
Two Air India Group pilots have failed initial drug tests, with their samples sent for confirmatory analysis. This comes after mandatory psychoactive substance testing was implemented following an incident where a pilot tested positive for marijuana after a flight lost altitude.
An Air India Airbus A320 experienced a near-simultaneous loss of all three hydraulic systems at 36,000 feet on a Phuket-Delhi flight, injuring 24 people. The pilot-in-command was subsequently terminated after testing positive for banned psychoactive substances, though the AAIB has not linked this to the technical failure.
The pilot-in-command of an Air India Phuket-Delhi flight that experienced a sudden 300-foot altitude drop last week has tested positive for a psychoactive substance, identified by sources as marijuana, in a confirmatory test. This development comes as Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu met with Air India executives to discuss the serious incident, which left 24 people injured.
'...because of the character, how it was to be portrayed, the speech, the scenes.' 'There was a physicality involved because he was a TB patient who eventually had cancer and passed away.'
Telangana Police have formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate a drug bust at a farmhouse in Moinabad involving a TDP MP and a former BRS MLA.
A TDP MP and former BRS MLA were among those detained following a drug bust at a farmhouse in Moinabad near Hyderabad. Some individuals tested positive for drug consumption, and a businessman was arrested for allegedly firing a weapon.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has vowed strict action against law violators to curb the drug menace in the state, citing a recent drug bust involving a TDP MP and a former BRS MLA. He emphasised that the government will not spare anyone, regardless of their status, and highlighted the establishment of the EAGLE FORCE to combat drug-related crimes.
A TDP MP and former BRS MLA are among six people detained in Hyderabad after testing positive for drug consumption following a raid on a farmhouse party.
A TDP MP and former BRS MLA were among those detained after a drug raid at a farmhouse in Moinabad, Hyderabad. Some individuals tested positive for drug consumption, and a businessman was detained for allegedly firing a weapon.
7 Dogs has all the money, stars and kinetic action you could want, but its vanity-project sheen cannot hide a painfully generic screenplay, observes Sreeju Sreedharan.
A drug raid at a Hyderabad farmhouse led to the detention of a TDP MP and a former BRS MLA, sparking a police investigation into drug consumption and illegal activities.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a side conversation for Indian pharma. It is fast becoming central to how drugs will be discovered, made, and supplied. Along with that shift comes a sharper focus on innovation, on the one hand, and quality and trust, on the other.
Opposition parties in Punjab have criticised the Bhagwant Mann government following a blast incident at a freight corridor rail track in Patiala, citing intelligence failures and a lack of grip on law and order.
A probe into the biggest drug haul of 6,000 kg methamphetamine in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands has shown that the Myanmarese smugglers were using the Starlink satellite internet services for navigation through the mid-sea, a top police officer said on Thursday. Authorities suspect that the drug consignments may be linked to notorious international cartels, such as Tse Chi Lop's (the Chinese El Chapo) or Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes' (El Mencho) operations.
Pilots might soon be asked not to use perfume, mouthwash and tooth gel as that may result in positive breath analyser test. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has sought comments on a draft Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) wherein it has also proposed barring crew from using any "drug/formulation or use any substance such as mouthwash/tooth gel/perfume or any such product which has alcoholic content". Comments have been sought on the CAR, which pertains to procedure for medical examination of aircraft personnel for alcohol consumption, till October 5.
The Border Security Force (BSF) is training specialized 'drone commandos' and 'drone warriors' for modern warfare, with plans to deploy them in missions like Operation Sindoor. A 'School of Drone Warfare' has been inaugurated to provide training in UAV operations, anti-drone warfare, and surveillance.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has released a draft procedure that calls for testing pilots, other aviation personnel and crew members for psychoactive substances before they take to the skies. The Indian civil aviation regulator has sought comments from stakeholders over the next 30 days before issuing a regulation to this effect. Asking airlines and airports to do random checks on crew and air traffic controllers, DGCA proposed that violators be suspended for a minimum of three years or their licence be permanently cancelled as maximum punishment.
The Interpol has issued its first Silver notice, at India's request, to track the global assets of former French Embassy officer Shubham Shokeen, who is wanted in connection with a visa fraud. The Silver notice, introduced in January this year, aims to track illicit assets across the globe. India is among 51 countries participating in the pilot project for the Silver notice, which will continue until November. The Interpol has issued two Silver notices on the CBI's request - one against Shokeen for allegedly facilitating Schengen visas for illegal gratification and another against Amit Madanlal Lakhanpal, who is wanted by the Enforcement Directorate for allegedly creating a cryptocurrency without permission and defrauding investors.
DGCA's move seeks to ban perfumes for pilots as they have alcohol and can affect the results of breathanalyser tests. But the FAA and EASA have different standards, says senior journalist Shobha John.
In a major anti-narcotics operation, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) seized a vessel with six Myanmarese crew carrying 6,000 kg of contraband Methamphetamine near Andaman and Nicobar Islands, an official said on Monday.
commercial airlines and air navigation service providers have to carry out random drug tests on at least 10 per cent of their flight crew and air traffic controllers every year.
Drug major Cipla on Tuesday said it has launched drone-powered deliveries of critical medicines - cardiac, respiratory and other essential chronic therapies - to hospitals and pharmacies across Himachal Pradesh in partnership with Skype Air Mobility, a Gurugram-based drone delivery company. Cipla is the first among large Indian pharmaceutical companies to adopt drone-based deliveries to facilitate expedited supply to stockists in remote areas, it claimed. The Mumbai-based firm said the use of drones will support the on-time delivery of its medicines to chemists and clinics in remote areas, and minimise risks of affecting cold chain products due to temperature excursions.
Indian pharmaceutical companies may have units abroad as part of "distributed manufacturing" across various locations, according to industry veterans. This may come about over the next five to 10 years.
Serving pilots question the Kozhikode plane crash report findings.
After registering a net profit of Rs 25.1 crore in Q3FY25 and consolidated revenues growing by 7 per cent on a like-for-like basis, Siddharth Mittal, chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director, Biocon, told Sohini Das/Business Standard in a virtual interaction that local manufacturing in the US is a trade off between cost and qualifying to do business there.
The first phase of the programme will kick off with vaccinations in Hyderabad on Monday and in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday (May 18) at Apollo facilities.
The firm presented that Sputnik Light vaccine is approved in 29 countries, including Russia and Argentina.
DGCA panel has proposed tests be conducted even before a candidate is inducted into a flying training institute
Astronauts aboard the space station have found themselves facing a foe far tinier than any rogue asteroid: A joint study by IIT-Madras and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory -- under Principal Investigator Kasthuri Venkateswaran -- has revealed that strains of the bacterial species Enterobacter bugandensis, a multi-drug resistant superbug, have been hitting the gym in the microgravity crucible. Though the situation at the ISS is slightly unsettling, holding funeral dirges would be an overkill, says Kumar Abishek.
Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, world's most-wanted drug lord who fled through a tunnel from a maximum security prison in a made-for-Hollywood escape that deeply embarrassed the Mexican government and strained the country's ties with the United States six months ago, has been recaptured.
'It is time India thought big not only about its global clout politically and diplomatically, but also act its size against pin-pricking by anti national elements,' says Group Captain Murli Menon (retd).
The ICMR-National Institute of Virology has been regularly undertaking studies to understand the protective efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines against emerging variants.
Russia's Sputnik V vaccine is currently being manufactured in India by Dr Reddy's Laboratories.
The company did not respond to specific queries on the project's expansion.
Vasundhara Raje may have had her faults but she is an unconventional and brave leader who deserves better, observes Aditi Phadnis.
Refuting the opposition's claim that Manipur 'is burning', a senior government functionary said on Thursday that no killing has happened in the state since July 18 and asserted that peace and normalcy will be restored soon through ongoing talks with the two warring communities -- Meiteis and Kukis.
