India news: Loni is world's most polluted city, report says

Days before the start of the new India Premier League (IPL) cricket season, a consortium has swooped in to acquire the reigning champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).  

The consortium — comprising the Aditya Birla Group, the Times of India Group, Munich-based Bolt Ventures and US-based Blackstone — said it had paid $1.78 billion for former India captain Virat Kohli's team. 

Aditya Birla ​Group Director ‌Aryaman Vikram Birla will serve as chairman of the ​franchise and ⁠Satyan Gajwani of Times of India Group ⁠will ​serve as vice chairman.

The previous 100% owner of RCB, United Spirits, the Indian arm of UK-based drinks giant Diageo, concluded in a recent strategic review during the offseason that the team was "non-core" to its primary alcohol business.

The growing interest in IPL franchises in general is driven by rising team revenues and the Twenty20 league's record valuation, which investment bank Houlihan Lokey put at $18.5 billion last year. 

In RCB's case specifically, the franchise won its first-ever IPL title last season. 

Also on Tuesday, the Bengaluru team announced its memorial plans for its opening game of the 2026 season at home against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday.

The team will keep 11 seats in its stadium empty, warm up in tops sporting the number 11 and wear black armbands for the match. This is in memory of the 11 people killed in a stampede a day after RCB won the 2025 final as they returned to their home stadium to celebrate with supporters. 

RCB's CEO Rajesh Menon said the crowd management measures had been "significantly strengthened" at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium since the disaster, in which another 50 people were wounded. The Board of Control for Cricket in India only approved the stadium for renewed use this season earlier this month after arrests in the aftermath of the deaths. 

US President Donald Trump spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the situation in the Middle East and the "importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open," US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor posted to X.

Modi also posted to X shortly after that he received a call from Trump and that the two had a "useful exchange of views" on the situation in the Middle East.

Modi said India "supports de-escalation and restoration of peace at the earliest," adding that the safe transit of tankers through the Strait of Hormuz is essential for the world. 

The conversation between Trump and Modi took place after two more Indian-flagged tankers carrying liquified petroleum gas were allowed to make their way safely  through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.

Iran has effectively closed the strait, through which almost all Middle Eastern oil flows to the rest of the world.

The Indian government on Tuesday also called for an all-party meeting on Wednesday to discuss the Iran war, Indian news agency ANI reported. 

Maharashtra's Forest Minister Ganesh Naik said the state government had asked the Reliance Foundation to house leopards at its Vantara facility in Gujarat, with 25 animals already relocated and plans to move a total of 50, local media reports said.

The mega-zoo, Vantara, is run by Anant Ambani, the son of Asia's richest man.

Speaking in the legislative council on Monday, Naik said wildlife numbers in the state have risen sharply, with the leopard population increasing nearly fourfold over the past decade.

"Twenty-five leopards have been sent to Vantara. We made a demand (to take the leopards) because 150 leopards were trapped in Pune district," Mr. Naik said.

The Vantara facility in Jamnagar has faced scrutiny over animal sourcing but was cleared of wrongdoing by India's Supreme Court.

Gold prices in India have surged to historic highs, pushing wedding budgets to the breaking point.

Couples are scaling back and recycling old gold as the cost of tradition becomes out of reach for many families.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday urged Indians to brace for the long-term economic impact of the ongoing US-Iran conflict, warning of potential disruptions to energy supplies and inflation.

Addressing the upper house of Parliament, Modi said the government was working to safeguard national interests and maintain stability, while calling for preparedness in the face of prolonged uncertainty.

The government has set up seven empowered groups to monitor fuel, supply chains and inflation, he said, while urging states to prevent black marketing and protect vulnerable populations.

"We are also in communication with Iran, Israel, and the US…  We have also spoken to them about de-escalation and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz," Modi said.

Balapuram village was once struggling for water as villagers faced drying borewells, failed crops, and long walks for daily needs.

But the villagers came together to revive its water sources, restore ponds and check dams, and thereby raising groundwater levels in just five years.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was attacked by the opposition after reports emerged that Pakistan is positioning itself as the "lead mediator" to broker an end to the US-Israeli war against Iran.

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi called India's foreign policy under Modi a "joke."

"Our foreign policy is Prime Minister Modi's personal foreign policy. You can see the result of this. It's a universal joke. Everybody considers it a universal joke," Gandhi said, according to The Times of India newspaper.

The Financial Times reported on Monday that Pakistan's Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir spoke to US President Donald Trump on Sunday pitching Islamabad as a possible venue for talks.

The negotiations — involving senior figures from the Trump administration and Iran — could begin as early as this week, the report said.

Senior Congress party leader Pawan Khera posted on X that while Modi was busy lauding himself at home, "Pakistan was positioning itself at the diplomatic table during a critical global moment."

Incidentally, on Monday, in a speech in Parliament, Modi said that India was engaging diplomatically with both sides of the conflict.

"India is encouraging all sides to end it peacefully" he said.

A Canadian Sikh activist has raised the issue of India's alleged targeting of Sikh activists abroad.

"We won't be silenced," Moninder Singh, the chairman of the Sikh Federation of Canada, told AFP news agency.

Speaking at the United Nations' European headquarters in Geneva, Singh urged the UN to step up scrutiny of India's transnational repression.

Singh said he had received multiple warnings from Canadian police about credible threats to his life, including an "imminent" risk involving his wife and children.

His comments highlight the earlier tensions between Canada and India following the 2023 killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, which Ottawa linked to India. New Delhi denied the allegation.

Nijjar was a proponent of the so-called Khalistan movement, which calls for a Sikh homeland by carving out an ethno-religious state in India's Punjab region.

Indian stock markets opened higher on Tuesday after a sharp fall the previous day.

The BSE Sensex rose as much as 2.08%, while the Nifty 50 gained 1.71%.

The rebound followed a global rally after US President Donald Trump postponed planned strikes on Iran's power grid, easing fears of a deeper energy shock after he claimed productive conversations with Iran. Iranian officials have denied they held talks with the US. 

India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday warned against the unregulated use of GLP-1–based weight-loss drugs, as low-cost generics enter the market following the expiry of semaglutide patents.

"With the recent introduction of multiple generic variants of GLP-1...concerns have emerged regarding their on-demand availability through retail pharmacies, online platforms, wholesalers, and wellness clinics," the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

"These drugs, when used without proper medical supervision, may lead to serious adverse effects and related health risks."

The Drugs Controller of India has intensified inspections across the supply chain, including online pharmacies, wholesalers and clinics, and issued notices over irregular sales and promotion. India is the world's largest supplier of generic medicines.

Authorities also reiterated a ban on misleading promotions and off-label use.

Loni in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh was the world's most polluted city in 2025, according to a report by Swiss air quality monitoring firm IQAir.

Loni averaged PM2.5 levels of 112.5 micrograms per cubic meter, the report said, referring to hazardous fine particles in the air.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that safe levels of PM2.5 should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter of air.

Three Indian cities were among the four most polluted — Byrnihat in the northeast and capital, New Delhi.

Last year, Byrnihat was named the world's most polluted city in IQAir's 2024 report.

Additionally, the world's 25 most polluted cities were all in India, Pakistan and China.

Pakistan was ranked the world’s most polluted country in 2025, with PM2.5 levels up to 13 times higher than the WHO guideline. India ranked sixth.

Only thirteen countries and territories met the WHO annual PM2.5 guideline, the report said.

Good morning! This is Shakeel from DW's New Delhi studio, bringing you the latest news updates from India on this bright, sunny morning.

For the second year running, an Indian city has been named the world's most polluted by Swiss air quality monitoring firm IQAir. 

You know those GLP-1–based weight loss drugs everyone's been talking about? Indian regulators are now investigating unauthorized sales and misuse of the medicine. 

Oh, and remember how the markets fell sharply yesterday? Well, today they have rebounded.

So, for all this and more, stay tuned as we bring you the day's biggest stories from India.