The real threat to Indian aviation: Severe staff shortages!

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar

Our daily list of Souk picks

Editor’s note: As you may have noticed, we just unveiled a beta version of Souk—which has one simple goal: To help you find unique, high quality products that are worth your time and money.

One: This is for anyone who wants to look crisp—without wrestling an iron. The Strom Go steamer punches above its weight. It heats up in 30 seconds, smooths out wrinkles fast, and weighs less than a paperback. We like that it skips the ironing board drama and actually looks good sitting out. Great for silks, cottons, and those “I’ll wear it if it’s not too crushed” moments.

Two: We think these Multi Color Pin Earrings are like a mini getaway for your ears. That delicate leaf shape? It’s not just a shape—it’s a tiny reminder of tropical breezes and sunlit afternoons. The colours feel soft but with a little twist, like something you might find tucked away in a beachside market. They’re just the right size to wear all day, adding a touch of charm that makes you feel like you’re carrying a bit of vacation magic with you—no passport or VISAs needed.

Three: The Everything Bagel Seasoning by Urban Platter proves that crunch and umami can fix almost anything. Sesame brings the bite, garlic adds the savoury kick, and just the right hit of salt ties it all together. We’ve tossed it on the usual cream cheese bagels, but also on fried eggs, sautéed veggies, khichdi, even instant noodles—and it never misses. The kind of seasoning you start reaching for without thinking, like flavour on autopilot.

PS: This is a beta launch and feedback—good or bad—is key. So please email the team at dearsouk@splainer.in with your thoughts. We want to get this right!

The real threat to Indian aviation: Severe staff shortages!

A parliamentary committee report has warned that airline safety in India is under ‘existential threat’. The reason: chronic and severe staff shortages at the top regulatory body, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)—at a time when the number of Indians in the air is increasing at a galloping rate. And the government is doing its best to push it even higher—by expanding the number of airports.

India’s aviation market: is the third-largest in the world behind the US and China. In 2024, 174 million passengers traveled from and within India by air—accounting for around 4.2% of the global total. That’s 17 million more than the pre-pandemic total of 157 million in 2019. The industry generates over $50 billion for the Indian economy annually—making up 1.5% of the GDP and 7.7 million jobs.

The airport boom: This rise in the aviation market has been matched by a deluge of new airports—75 since 2014. Last September, the government announced plans to add another 29 to the current total of 148 airports.

The Adani angle: While they are run by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), at least 30 of these airports are slated for privatisation this year. The Adani Group—owner and operator of eight airports in the country—is waiting in the wings to expand its aviation empire. The Group recently announced plans to invest one lakh crore over the next five years, saying, “There's so much growth opportunity here with 26 airports already identified for being developed [in the public private partnership] way.”

What happened now: A parliamentary committee was tasked with investigating aviation safety after the catastrophic Air India crash in Ahmedabad in June. That report was released yesterday. While it doesn’t mention the crash, the report reveals a whopping 510 out of 1,063 positions have remained unfilled at the DGCA—whose main job is to ensure airline safety. That’s a shortfall of 50%.

The reason: outdated hiring practices, poor training and a brutal work culture—especially among air traffic controllers:

[The] aviation boom had put [air traffic] controllers under "immense pressure," particularly at metropolitan airports, where many of them operate under "prolonged and fatiguing duty schedules". The report further warned that some ATC staff were insufficiently trained and noted that "the current mismatch between recruitment and training capacity, coupled with operational overload, poses a direct and ongoing threat to airspace safety".

Where is the money? While the government has been spending lavishly on new airports, the DGCA has experienced significant budget cuts—it has dropped from Rs 55 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 30 crore this year.

The big picture: The DGCA is staffed by candidates who take the UPSC exams—which restricts its ability to recruit talent. It is also run like an old-fashioned bureaucracy—slow, inefficient and hierarchical—with very little protection for whistleblowers. In other words, the agency is still stuck in the socialist era—while the airline industry is racing ahead without guard rails.

BBC News and The Print have the best reporting.

Sweeping GST changes ahoy!

A top-level ministerial panel has signed off on a proposal to radically overhaul the GST slabs. Right now, there are four tiers of taxation—5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. Plus the luxury and ‘sin’ taxes for cigarettes, alcohol, etc.

The new plan will entirely get rid of the 28% tier.
The tax on products that qualify for that tier—smaller cars, air conditioners, televisions and refrigerators–will be lowered to 18%.
Over 99% of items currently taxed at 12%—insulin, vegetables, butter, kitchenware, etc—will move into the lower 5% tier.
Sin goods and ‘super luxury vehicles’ will be part of a new 40% slab.

Point to note: The 18% tier accounts for 67% of GST revenue—and that percentage is likely to remain unchanged.

The big picture: GST revenue collected by the government is expected to drop by $20 billion. But the hope is that reduced taxes will offer a needed economic boost:

The tax cuts would damp inflationary pressures, and boost the chances for further interest rate cuts by the central bank, economists say. However, they are expected to boost consumption, which contributes roughly 60% of India's GDP. IDFC FIRST estimates India's nominal GDP increasing by 0.6 percentage points over 12 months.

Of course, all of this is hypothetical—since the proposal requires the approval of the GST Council—with representatives from all the states. For now, the response has been cautiously optimistic. (Mint, paywall, Reuters)

Wondrous new uses for pollen

Pollen—the male part of a flowering plant—plays an important role in plant reproduction. But when left unfertilised, it becomes as useless as dust. But not anymore. Scientists in Singapore have developed a breakthrough technique that repurposes pollen to make eco-friendly materials such as paper, film, and sponges.

How it works: The process softens the outer shell of the pollen—made of a polymer so strong that it is called “the diamond of the plant world”:

Before the treatment, pollen grains are more like marbles: hard, inert, and largely unreactive. After, the particles are so soft they stick together easily, allowing more complex structures to form.

This diagram shows the process:

Why this matters: Pollen is abundant and easy to access: “A single floret of the common sunflower, for instance, produces 25,000 to 67,000 grains every summer. Moreover, it’s easy to collect from bees in commercial hives.” The cherry on top:

Producing traditional paper destroys trees and is resource-intensive, requiring up to 13 liters of water for every page made. Pollen is naturally released in bulk from seed-producing plants, and deriving paper from it requires only a few simple steps. Ink can be removed with a simple alkaline solution wash—a process that lets the paper be reused.

Knowable Magazine has lots more on the process and why it’s awesome.

The most popular free app today is…

…Focus Friend—which has overtaken the ChatGPT behemoth on the App Store charts. The productivity app was created by YouTuber Hank Green for serial procrastinators. It is basically a Pomodoro timer—you focus on work for 25 minutes before taking a 5-minute break. What makes it special is the adorable wingman:

Starting out, you’re met with a cute little bean character that you can name whatever you want. As you start the timer, the bean goes to work and starts knitting socks for you. The kicker? It really doesn’t want to be disturbed. This is your time to get to work, too. Think of it as body doubling with your virtual bean.

Every time you stop working—procrastinate—you make your bean really sad: “All it really wants is to knit you some socks, but it can't do that if you're on your phone all the time. Won't you focus a bit as your friend knits for you?” The bonus: Your collection of socks can be traded to get nice things for your buddy—wall art, furniture, or even a different skin. The moral of this story: Digital pets beat anything—even ChatGPT cheats. Check out the screenshots below. (LifeHacker)

MAP Academy & Nalli Fellowship is now open!!

Editor’s note: As you know, the wonderful MAP Academy is our content partner for Advisory. It is one of the few Indian institutions deeply invested in cultural research and education. They also offer rare funded opportunities for researchers, designers, archivists, journalists, writers and educators. The Nalli Fellowship is one of them.

Over to MAP Academy…

Are you working on the histories and practices of South Asian textiles and their socioeconomic, environmental or cultural implications?

The MAP Academy & Nalli Fellowships is offering four Research Fellowships of Rs 5.5 lakh each, for the study of textiles from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Tibet, Afghanistan, Myanmar, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Applications are welcome from individuals—students, journalists, educators, designers, researchers—as well as from collectives and non-profit organisations. The grant must be used to support one year of research, which may be part of a longer-term project.

Applications will be assessed by an Advisory Committee, based on the responses in the submitted form, which will also double as the project proposal. Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed via an online video call, after which a final selection will be made.

Applications will remain open until October 15, 2025.

Find out more, and apply through this link. For any queries, contact us at: fellowships@map-india.org.

what caught our eye

business & tech

Rapido has been fined Rs 10 lakh [Rs 1 million] by the consumer protection watchdog CCPA for misleading offers such as “Auto in 5 minutes or Get Rs 50”.
IBM and NASA unveiled Surya: an open-source AI model that predicts the Sun’s storm activity which can help with weather forecasts on Earth.
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are facing lawsuits from passengers who say they paid extra for window seats only to end up staring at a blank wall.
A popular digital vigilante called NanoBaiter exposed a man from Raebareli accusing him of running a Microsoft tech support scam.

sports & entertainment

Previously unheard Beatles tracks will be released in a new Anthology collection, following a teaser from Paul McCartney on Instagram.
The Telegraph has a good read on how India’s women athletes are turning to social media to grow audiences and land sponsorships in a sports market still dominated by men.
Leeds United’s £18 million signing of AC Milan striker Noah Okafor has pushed Premier League clubs’ summer spending to a record £2.37 billion, surpassing 2023’s all-time high.

health & environment

Brazil has suspended the Amazon soy moratorium, a key forest protection deal, raising fears that an area the size of Portugal could now be opened up for farming just months before it hosts the COP30 climate summit. OTOH, it lost 65% less Amazon rainforest to fires this July compared to last year.
The Tamil Nadu government has cleared Rs 96 lakh to set up a Marine Elite Force in Chennai to protect Olive Ridley turtles and other endangered species along the Neelankarai–Marina coast.
Ten African cheetah cubs held in captivity since birth for illegal trade have been rescued in Somaliland.
White noise helps humans concentrate better. Fascinatingly, scientists have found that white noise also helps yeast ferment beer faster by shortening the fermentation time—by 21 to 31 hours—without changing the flavour!

meanwhile, in the world

Police arrested 18 people at Microsoft’s Redmond campus after worker-led protests demanding the company cut ties with Israel, as Microsoft pledged an “urgent” review of how its technology is being used.
The Trump administration is reviewing more than 55 million valid US visa holders for possible violations, including overstays and criminal activity, as part of its crackdown on immigrants.
New York Times (login required) has a good read on how India and the US may clash over goods trade but keep things balanced when it comes to services.
A new report says North Korea has built a secret missile base near its border with China that may house long-range weapons capable of threatening East Asia and the US.
Xi Jinping made a rare visit to Tibet, addressing 20,000 people on the 60th anniversary of the creation of the autonomous region after China annexed it and urging "unity".
Pew Research Center analysis shows the US immigrant population fell by nearly 1.5 million between January and June—the first drop in decades.
BBC has a good read on Denmark scrapping letter deliveries altogether as the country shifts fully into the digital age.

meanwhile, in India

After initially not permitting Aadhaar to be used as a form of identification, the Election Commission has now told the Supreme Court that Bihar voters left out of the draft roll can submit Aadhaar copies along with their claims for inclusion.
The Hindu reports that fresh Election Commission data from Bihar’s voter roll revision shows women—especially younger voters—were deleted in far greater numbers than men, raising new questions over the process.
Analysis of election affidavits shows that 42% of India’s chief ministers face criminal charges, with most of those accused belonging to the Opposition.
The Indian Council of Social Science Research has issued a show-cause notice to the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, accusing it of maligning the Election Commission and warning its grant could be cancelled.
Parliament has passed the Online Gaming Bill, paving the way for a nationwide ban on real money games once it gets the President’s nod.
Right on cue, Dream11 is shutting down its real money gaming business—a move that will trigger mass layoffs and push the company to focus on non-RMG ventures like Fancode and Sportz Drip.

Three things to see

One: Say hello to “jelly ice”—a gelatin-based hydrogel that is “edible, reusable, compostable, and squishy.” It is not, however, meant to be eaten. It is mainly an alternative to using actual ice for refrigeration—“since it freezes and thaws without making a watery mess.” This video has more on this tofu-inspired invention. (Gizmodo)

Two: The much anticipated trailer for ‘Fallout’ season 2 is here. The video game franchise is set 200 years after a nuclear apocalypse that births a new social order. The new season drops on December 17 on Amazon Prime. (USA Today)

Three: This is the trailer for ‘Ballad of a Small Player’—a psychological thriller that has Colin Farrell as a gambler pursued by Tilda Swinton who plays the private investigator. The movie is directed by Edward Berger—best known for the Vatican election drama ‘Conclave’. The movie is slated for a release on October 29 on Netflix. (Variety)