Top news headlines of today – 12 Dec 2025

Senior Congress leader and former Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil passed away at his home town Latur in Maharashtra on Friday morning, family sources said.

Patil, 90, passed away at his residence ‘Devghar’ after a brief illness, they said, adding that his funeral is expected to be held on Saturday.

He is survived by his son Shailesh Patil, daughter-in-law Archana, who unsuccessfully contested the assembly polls last year on a BJP ticket against Congress’ Amit Deshmukh from Latur city, and two granddaughters.

Born on October 12, 1935, Patil began his political journey as the president of Latur municipality between 1966 and 1970 and was subsequently elected as an MLA for two terms. He held key posts in the Maharashtra assembly, including Deputy Speaker and Speaker, between 1977 and 1979.

He then went on to win the Latur Lok Sabha seat seven times and was the 10th Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1991 to 1996. He lost to BJP’s Rupatai Patil Nilangekar in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. He was also a Rajya Sabha member.

The Congress leader held several Union portfolios, including Defence, Commerce, and Science and Technology. Patil was the Union Home Minister from 2004 to 2008, when he resigned after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.

He was the Governor of Punjab and also served as Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh from 2010 to 2015.

Follow this page as we track big developments of the day...

Dec 12, 2025 17:50 IST
DDA set to launch demolition drive in Mount Kailash over illegal encroachments
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is preparing a large-scale demolition drive in Mount Kailash, South Delhi, after inspections revealed widespread encroachments on public land.
 
The crackdown follows a similar operation in Sainik Farms, highlighting the administration’s renewed efforts to reclaim illegally occupied land in the capital. READ MORE



Dec 12, 2025 17:17 IST
Census 2027 gets Rs 11,718-crore nod; digital enumeration to begin in 2026
Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday said the government has approved Rs 11,718 crore for the conduct of the Census of India 2027.
 
The Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the proposal to conduct the Census which will be the first digital exercise of its kind, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters here. READ MORE



Dec 12, 2025 17:03 IST
IndiGo board ropes in external aviation expert for flight disruption probe
IndiGo's board on Friday announced the appointment of an external aviation expert to carry out a root-cause analysis of recent flight disruptions.
 
"Chief Aviation Advisors LLC, led by Captain John Illson, veteran aviation expert, to conduct an independent expert review and assessment of the recent operational disruption and the contributing factors," the airline said in a statement. READ MORE



Dec 12, 2025 16:37 IST
Odisha Cong leader slams Rahul's 'inaccessibility', writes scathing letter to Sonia Gandhi
A former MLA from Odisha has written a scathing letter to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, slamming "growing distance" between the leadership and grassroots workers. He said that he himself has been unable to meet the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for almost three years.
 
Mohammed Moquim, who was an MLA from Barabati-Cuttak and claimed to be a life-long, devoted worker of the Congress, also questioned the leadership style of the party president Mallikarjun Kharge, claiming the 83-year-old leader has been unable to resonate with India's youth, who constitute 65 per cent of the country's population. READ MORE



Dec 12, 2025 16:15 IST
Cabinet approves bill to hike FDI in insurance sector to 100%
The Union Cabinet on Friday approved a bill to raise foreign direct investment in the insurance sector to 100 per cent, according to sources.
 
The bill may be introduced in the ongoing Winter session of Parliament, which is slated to conclude on December 19.
 
According to a Lok Sabha bulletin, the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill 2025, which seeks to deepen penetration, accelerate growth and development of the insurance sector and enhance ease of doing business, is part of the 13 legislations listed for the upcoming session of Parliament. READ MORE



Dec 12, 2025 16:11 IST
Sensex jumps nearly 450 pts on buying in metal shares, positive global trends
Benchmark stock index Sensex rallied nearly 450 points while broader Nifty closed above 26,000 level on Friday following buying in metal shares and positive global trends.
 
Rising for the second day, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 449.53 points or 0.53 per cent to settle at 85,267.66. During the day, it jumped 502.69 points or 0.59 per cent to 85,320.82.
 
The 50-share NSE Nifty surged 148.40 points or 0.57 per cent to 26,046.95. READ MORE



Dec 12, 2025 16:08 IST
Rupee slumps 9 paise to close at all-time low of 90.41 against US dollar
The rupee depreciated by 9 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.41 against the US dollar on Friday, as uncertainty over the India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows dented investor sentiment.
 
Forex traders said the rupee is under pressure, largely due to aggressive dollar purchases by importers amid surging global precious metal prices. READ MORE



Dec 12, 2025 15:44 IST
Government rattled on Vande Mataram, election reforms, Rahul Gandhi tells party MPs
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday hailed his party MPs' performance during the debates on Vande Mataram and election reforms in the House, and told them that the government seemed "under pressure" from opposition on both the issues, sources said.
 
Gandhi, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, chaired a meeting with Congress MPs in the Lower House and also heard the views of the party legislators besides taking their feedback. READ HERE



Dec 12, 2025 15:04 IST
IndiGo Crisis: DGCA suspends 4 Flight Operations Inspectors
Aviation safety regulator DGCA has suspended four Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs) over massive disruptions in IndiGo’s operations, which resulted in the cancellation of thousands of flights and lakhs of people getting stranded across airports.
 
The airline cancelled over 50 flights from Bengaluru Airport on Friday.
 
FOIs are senior officials within the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, working as part of its regulatory and safety oversight functions, often deployed to monitor airline operations.



Dec 12, 2025 14:28 IST
Regulator CCI examining whether IndiGo violated competition norms: Official
Fair trade watchdog CCI is examining whether the country's largest airline, IndiGo, violated competition norms, a senior official said on Friday amid the carrier facing regulatory scrutiny over significant flight disruptions.
 
IndiGo, which has a domestic market share of over 65 per cent, cancelled hundreds of flights starting from December 2, causing hardships to thousands of passengers, and the situation is stabilising now. READ MORE



Dec 12, 2025 13:47 IST
Rahul Gandhi flags issue of air pollution, seeks discussion in LS
Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday raised the issue of air pollution in major cities of the country and sought a discussion on it in the Lok Sabha.
 
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Gandhi said the discussion on the issue can be framed in an interesting manner where the opposition and the government do not trade abuses at each other, but find a solution to the problem. READ HERE



Dec 12, 2025 13:39 IST
Five from disadvantaged communities in CIC shortlist: Govt sources counters Rahul Gandhi
A high-level panel has recommended the names of five people belonging to disadvantaged sections for filling vacancies in the CIC, sources said, dismissing opposition leader Rahul Gandhi's reported claim that the finalised list lacked names from SC, ST, OBC and minority communities.
 
The leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha recorded his dissent during a meeting of a three-member high-level committee, comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and himself, held on Wednesday to choose the next Chief Information Commissioner and eight Information Commissioners. READ MORE



Dec 12, 2025 13:25 IST
Double bonanza for fans as Rajinikanth celebrates 75th birthday & 50 years in cinema
It’s a double bonanza for the fans of Superstar Rajinikanth. Their legend celebrates his 75th birthday on Friday, which, incidentally marks his 50 years in cinema as well.
 
Not surprisingly, the day turned into a carnival for fans and the film industry alike, with special film re-releases, music shows and themed parties marking 50 years of the iconic actor’s journey in cinema. READ MORE



Dec 12, 2025 13:14 IST
Messi's G.O.A.T. India Tour set to dazzle, but without the football magic of 2011
Argentine superstar Lionel Messi's long-awaited return to India, after a magical maiden visit back in 2011, will be high on glitz but low on actual football, promising a spectacle that may not recapture the raw sporting frenzy that once shook the Salt Lake Stadium here.
 
His artistry in a competitive match will be missing this time. It would be quite unlike 2011 when more than 85,000 fans packed the stadium, some even perched on terrace edges, to watch Argentina edge Venezuela 1-0 in a FIFA friendly. READ MORE



Dec 12, 2025 11:52 IST
Kashmir in grip of cold wave, Pulwama shivers at minus 5.5 degrees Celsius
The minimum temperature in Kashmir remained below the freezing point as cold conditions persisted across the valley, officials said on Friday.
 
Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 3.6 degrees Celsius on Thursday night, down from the previous night's minus 2.9 degrees Celsius, the officials said.
 
They said the night temperature was 2.4 degrees below the normal for this time of the season. READ MORE



Dec 12, 2025 11:38 IST
Nine killed, 23 injured as bus falls off ghat road in Andhra Pradesh
Nine people were killed and 23 others injured after a bus fell off a ghat road and turned turtle here in Alluri Sitaramaraju district in the early hours of Friday, police said.
 
They said the bus, which was heading to neighbouring Telangana, was carrying 37 people, including the driver and the cleaner. Six of them are safe. READ MORE



Dec 12, 2025 11:28 IST
Statesman of great dignity, irreparable loss: Cong condoles Shivraj Patil's demise
The Congress on Friday condoled the death of veteran party leader Shivraj Patil, with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge hailing him as a statesman of great dignity who served the nation with distinction.
 
Senior Congress leader and former Union home minister Shivraj Patil breathed his last at his home in Maharashtra's Latur on Friday morning after a brief illness, family sources said. He was 90. READ MORE



Dec 12, 2025 11:07 IST
Delhi chokes under thick smog as AQI hits 332 in very poor category
Delhi choked under a thick blanket of smog on Friday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) settling at 332, in the 'very poor' category.
 
The air quality was 'very poor' at 30 stations while it was 'severe' at one station, Jahangirpuri, which recorded an AQI of 405.
 
Delhi's air quality is likely to remain in 'very poor' till Saturday. READ MORE



Dec 12, 2025 10:52 IST
Shivakumar meets over 30 Cong MLAs, including ministers, over dinner: Sources
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and over 30 Congress legislators, including some ministers, met for a dinner late on Thursday night, party sources said.
 
Ministers K H Muniyappa, Mankal Vaidya, Dr M C Sudhakar, MLAs N A Haris, Ramesh Bandisiddegowda, H C Balakrishna, Ganesh Hukkeri, Darshan Dhruvanarayana, Ashok Kumar Rai, K Y Nanjegowda were among those present in the meeting, the sources added. READ MORE



Dec 12, 2025 10:46 IST
PM Modi condoles death of former Union minister Shivraj Patil
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday expressed grief over the death of former Union minister Shivraj Patil and said that he was passionate about contributing to the welfare of society.
 
Patil passed away in his hometown Latur in Maharashtra on Friday. He was 90.
 
"Saddened by the passing of Shri Shivraj Patil Ji. He was an experienced leader, having served as MLA, MP, Union Minister, Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly as well as the Lok Sabha during his long years in public life," Modi said in a post on X. READ HERE



Dec 12, 2025 10:46 IST
Stock markets rally in early trade; Sensex jumps over 400 points
Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty surged in early trade on Friday, extending their previous session's rally, in-tandem with a positive global trends amid a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.
 
The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 402.99 points to 85,221.12 during early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty jumped 115.3 points to 26,013.85. READ MORE



Dec 12, 2025 10:45 IST
Veteran Congressman and former Union minister Shivraj Patil passes away at 90
Senior Congress leader and former Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil passed away at his home town Latur in Maharashtra on Friday morning, family sources said.
 
Patil, 90, passed away at his residence ‘Devghar’ after a brief illness, they said, adding that his funeral is expected to be held on Saturday. READ MORE