ET NEWS

After two days of intense political unrest and uncertainty in Nepal, IndiGo said it is set to resume regular services to Kathmandu from Thursday, the aviation giant said in an official statement. The airline will operate four daily scheduled flights connecting Kathmandu with key destinations. In addition, and pending regulatory approvals, two special relief flights are also planned for the day. These flights will focus on helping stranded passengers return home and will be available at special fares to make travel more accessible. “Our focus is on reuniting people with their loved ones,” IndiGo said in its statement, adding that passenger safety remains its top priority.— IndiGo6E (@IndiGo6E) The announcement follows the reopening of Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport, which was closed on Tuesday after youth-led protests spilled into the streets, paralysing public life and raising safety concerns. As a result, hundreds of Indian travellers were left stranded after the shutdown. Air India, too, announced on Wednesday that it has started special services on the Delhi–Kathmandu route. “Air India is operating special flights today and tomorrow … Our scheduled operations will also resume from tomorrow,” the airline said, noting it was working closely with government agencies to support stranded passengers.Civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu said on X that, in coordination with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, IndiGo and Air India will operate additional flights over the next few days alongside scheduled services to clear the backlog. He also urged airlines to keep fares “within reasonable levels.”Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a travel advisory urging citizens to defer non-essential travel to Nepal until the situation stabilises. “Indian citizens presently in Nepal are advised to shelter in their current places of residence, avoid going out onto the streets and exercise all due caution,” the advisory stated.The protests—driven largely by Nepal’s youth frustrated over unemployment, corruption and disenchantment with the political establishment—have highlighted simmering tensions in the Himalayan nation and sparked regional concern over stability.

Mumbai: The recent sell-off in Indian government bonds seems to be easing and demand is expected to rise from October, according to bond dealers. The impact on government revenue from GST rate revisions is seen less severe than feared, and the market is factoring in a possible central bank action to fix the bond market dislocation."Benign inflation and potential headwinds to GDP should help the RBI maintain a supportive monetary policy. In addition, the government's still resilient fiscal footing and its commitment to fiscal consolidation should together help to revive the demand for India government bonds in the near term," analysts at Barclays said in a report on Tuesday.Barclays expects the yield on 10-year benchmark government bonds to ease to 6.25% by December-end. It closed at 6.48% Wednesday. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.Economists at Union Bank of India see the possibility of a token 25- to 50-basis point rate cuts as part of coordinated government and RBI policy efforts to support growth. Policy steps by the central bank to address the dislocated bond market are also likely to be a key driver for the market. "We believe that the current levels are attractive to enter a tactical trade in long-duration bonds (especially G-secs)," they wrote in a report last week.Bank of Baroda said the bond market is getting back to normal. "The tariff impact would be there for sure, but the GST cuts could provide some compensation. We are still talking of growth in the region of 6.5%," said chief economist Madan Sabnavis.123819387That said, a growing mismatch between demand and supply at the long end of the yield curve remains a key concern for the market. Recent auctions saw states borrowing less than their notified limits because of the absence of long-term investors like insurance companies and pension funds in the market, bond traders said. Experts said if the RBI reduces the supply of long-term bonds in second-half borrowing, as suggested by banks in a meeting last week, it could compress spreads across the yield curve and soften yields on long bonds.In near term, release of the H2 borrowing calendar by September-end, developments related to an India-US trade deal and outcome of the Monetary Policy Committee's meeting on October 1 are key events for market.