New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has started reviewing airfare trends ahead of the festive season rush and has directed airlines to increase flight capacity to prevent any sharp rise in ticket prices, Ministry of Civil Aviation said on Sunday.

According to the ministry, the DGCA has been keeping a close watch on airfare movements, particularly during the festive season when passenger demand typically peaks. The regulator has asked airlines to deploy additional flights to handle the increased travel rush and ensure affordability for passengers.

“DGCA is mandated by Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to keep a watch on airfares, especially during the festive season and take appropriate measures in case of a surge in prices,” it said.

“Accordingly, the DGCA proactively took up the issue/matter with airlines and asked them to augment flight capacities for the festive season by deploying additional flights to meet high demand,” it added.

In response, major airlines have confirmed plans to add hundreds of extra flights across key routes. IndiGo will deploy around 730 additional flights across 42 sectors, while Air India and Air India Express will operate approximately 486 additional flights on 20 routes.

SpiceJet is also expanding its capacity with nearly 546 flights on 38 routes. A DGCA official said the aviation regulator will continue to maintain strict oversight of both airfares and flight capacities to safeguard passengers’ interests.

“We are ensuring that airlines operate sufficient flights to meet demand and that fares remain reasonable during the festive period,” the official said. Over the last few years, the DGCA has intensified its monitoring and auditing mechanisms to ensure transparency and safety in civil aviation operations.

Between 2020 and June 2025, the regulator conducted 171 regulatory audits to strengthen air safety standards, as per official data. The aviation regulator has also been conducting comprehensive special audits of airlines and allied services following the Air India crash earlier this year in Ahmedabad. These audits cover scheduled and non-scheduled airlines, flying schools, and maintenance organisations, ensuring strict compliance with safety norms.

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Sunday said that India and the United States are actively working to resolve the ongoing tariff issues through dialogue, expressing confidence that these challenges will not affect the broader trade relationship between the two nations.  

Speaking at the Kautilya Economic Conclave (KEC 2025), he said a large part of India’s trade with the US remains “business as usual” despite the current differences.

Jaishankar explained that the ongoing trade tensions largely stem from the inability of both sides to reach a common ground on several issues.

“We have issues with the US and a big part of it is because we have not arrived at a landing ground. The inability to reach there has led to tariffs being levied,” he said.

The minister revealed that negotiations are ongoing regarding the 50 per cent tariffs imposed on Indian exports.

He stressed that India’s “red lines have to be respected” while finding a solution. “There has to be an understanding with the US because it is the number one market and because a lot of the world has reached that understanding,” Jaishankar said.

Despite the tariffs, the minister underlined that trade between the two countries is largely continuing smoothly.

“I don’t think this will percolate to every dynamic of trade. Some issues will need to be negotiated, but I would hesitate to read very much more into it than the issues themselves,” he said.

Jaishankar also highlighted the challenges that tariffs pose for policymakers in today’s global trade environment.

“When you have a world where the central consideration of trade has become tariffs, please explain to me where comparative advantages and competitive advantages go,” he remarked.

He noted that additional tariffs have been imposed on India’s energy trade, but assured that both nations are engaged in active negotiations to resolve these matters.

The minister pointed out that India has successfully signed trade agreements with several Asian countries, though some of these economies are highly competitive.

“And in many cases, because of the supply chain nature, they have also provided a pathway for China. Our focus should be on FTAs with economies that are not competitive,” he said.

Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other members of Opec+ on Sunday decided to raise their oil production quotas by 137,000 barrels per day (bpd) for November, continuing efforts to reclaim market share amid cautious demand projections, AFP reported.“In view of a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories, the eight participating countries decided to implement a production adjustment of 137 thousand barrels per day from October’s levels,” Opec+ said in a statement after an online meeting.The increase was lower than many analysts had anticipated, with the group seeking to avoid exerting downward pressure on prices amid weak global demand. “Opec+8 stepped carefully after witnessing how nervous the market had become in light of rumours that production could be hiked by 500,000 barrels a day,” said Jorge Leon, analyst at Rystad Energy. “The group is walking a tightrope between maintaining stability and clawing back market share in a surplus environment.”Since April, the eight members — Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Oman, and Algeria — have already raised their quotas by more than 2.5 million bpd. The initial focus of Opec+ this year was to support high prices by limiting supply, but the strategy shifted in April to prioritise regaining market share from competitors including the US, Brazil, Canada, Guyana and Argentina.Global oil demand projections are modest. The International Energy Agency expects consumption to rise by only 700,000 bpd between 2025 and 2026, while Opec forecasts higher growth of 1.3 million bpd in 2025 and 1.4 million bpd in 2026.Brent crude, the global benchmark, traded below $65 per barrel on Friday, down about 8% in a week amid concerns over a potential surge in Opec+ production.Russia, the cartel’s second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia, relies on high oil prices to fund its war effort in Ukraine but has limited capacity to increase output due to US and European sanctions. “The increase decided Sunday is manageable for Russia,” said Leon. The country currently produces around 9.25 million bpd, close to its maximum capacity of 9.45 million bpd, down from roughly 10 million before the conflict, analysts said.Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries since August have intensified exports, as domestic utilisation of crude has declined, making Russia even more dependent on foreign markets, said Arne Lohmann Rasmussen, analyst at Global Risk Management