India news: Modi warns of heat wave dangers

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AdvertisementSkip next section What you need to know

What you need to know

• Prime Minister Modi has urged citizens to take precautions amid extreme heat
• Several forest fires reported in hills and mountains of northern India
• Iran has released the Indian sailors who were detained on an oil tanker in 2025, India said
• Ugandan woman quarentined on arrival in Bengaluru tests negative for Ebola

Here are the top headlines from India on Wednesday, May 27: 

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Skip next section IndiGo and Air India to cut domestic operations — report05/27/2026May 27, 2026

IndiGo and Air India to cut domestic operations — report

India's two largest airlines, IndiGo and Air India, will scale down domestic operations from June 1 for three months, according to a report by The New Indian Express, citing unnamed sources.

Air India will reduce up to 15% of its domestic capacity while IndiGo will reduce services by 5-7%, the report said. The temporary cuts are due to the higher aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices following the Iran war, and the seasonal slump generally seen post-school holiday period.

In late April, airlines had asked the government for urgent help, saying rising jet fuel prices were putting pressure on their operations.

The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) had said immediate government intervention was needed to continue normal operations.

Jet fuel prices in India had doubled to an all-time high in early April. However, the government, through its state-run fuel retailers,  had staggered this rise for domestic airlines to ease the pressure.

https://p.dw.com/p/5EONNSkip next section Supreme Court upholds electoral roll revisions05/27/2026May 27, 2026

Supreme Court upholds electoral roll revisions

The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday ruled that the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, being conducted in poll-bound states, was legal and within the Election Commission of India's (ECI) power to do so. 

A three-judge bench, including the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, ruled that SIR advances the constitutional goal of free and fair elections. 

“Free and fair elections do not rest merely upon the mechanics of polling. They fundamentally depend upon the integrity, accuracy, and credibility of the electoral rolls, which form the foundation of the democratic process," the court said, according to Indian legal news outlet Bar and Bench. 

The court also said it was satisfied with the reasons the ECI provided for conducting the exercise, including that four decades had passed since the last revision was conducted.

What is the SIR exercise?

A sweeping voter registration overhaul, SIR is meant to remove ineligible voters, but critics say it is skewed against marginalised and minority communities. It kicked off last year in several states and territories, including West Bengal, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party recently won state elections.

Opposition parties have accused authorities of risking disenfranchisement ahead of important state elections, while the Election Commission says the exercise is needed to remove duplicate and ineligible names from voter lists.

Members of Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have long claimed that large numbers of undocumented Muslim migrants from neighboring Bangladesh have fraudulently entered India's electoral rolls.

https://p.dw.com/p/5EODASkip next section Ugandan woman quarantined in India tests negative for Ebola05/27/2026May 27, 2026

Ugandan woman quarantined in India tests negative for Ebola

A Ugandan woman has tested negative for Ebola disease, India's Health Ministry said on Wednesday, after she was quarantined in the southern city of Bengaluru on suspicion of having the virus. 

The ministry has not yet said when the woman will be released from quarantine.

The 28-year-old visitor from Uganda did not show symptoms and was quarantined as a precaution, said Dr Anil Kumar Banagar, medical superintendent at ​the hospital where she was isolated, though the ministry said she suffered mild body ache.

The news comes a day after India's Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda reviewed preparations to tackle the Ebola disease outbreak in Africa. 

India has not had a confirmed case of the virus since 2014. However, authorities have stepped up screening processes at international Airports since the 17th Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). 

The World Health Organisation declared it a public health emergency earlier this month and warned that the virus could spread into neighboring nations. 

The outbreak is of a rare type of Ebola that is outpacing response efforts, the World Health Organization says, with more than 900 suspected cases and more than 220 deaths. Aid efforts have intensified, and WHO says the outbreak could last for months.

As of May 22, Uganda has two confirmed cases of the virus, according to WHO.

WHO chief warns of Ebola epidemic

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https://p.dw.com/p/5ENuWSkip next section Forest fires rage through north India amid heat wave05/27/2026May 27, 2026

Forest fires rage through north India amid heat wave

India's air force deployed helicopters in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday as several forest fires erupted in the Kasauli region of the northern, hilly state. 

The fires spread quickly across large areas due to strong winds and dry conditions. Large parts of India are experiencing heat waves, with maximum temperatures exceeding 47 degrees Celsius (116 Fahrenheit) in several states and cities. 

At least two Indian Air Force helicopters were tackling the blaze, according to the Press Trust of India, which showed videos of thick smoke billowing from the scenic forests and thick Himalayan tree coverage. 

The Hindustan Times reported that personnel from the fire department, forest department, and Indian army were fighting to control the blaze and rescue people. 

Extreme heat, along with dry winds are often a harbinger of wildfires, a more common phenomenon in the West than in India. However, climate change and extreme temperatures have increased instances of wildfires in India as well.  

An analysis by Down To Earth showed that there were 80% more forest fires in just the first two months of 2026 when compared to trends in the past decade. When compared with 2024, which is the hottest year on record so far, forest fires were 50% more.

The Udhampur forest in the Jammu and Kashmir region has been fighting a massive forest fire for the last three days. Local media reported that the blaze has torn through several villages and continues to spread amid strong winds. 

Before that, a massive forest fire broke out in the northern state of Uttarakhand, but was quickly controlled. 

Wildfires - consequences of a warming world

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https://p.dw.com/p/5ENd8Skip next section Iran releases sailors detained in 2025, shipping authority says05/27/2026May 27, 2026

Iran releases sailors detained in 2025, shipping authority says

India has secured the release of 10 of its merchant navy sailors who had been detained in Iran for nearly a year, India’s shipping authority said in a statement late on Tuesday. 

The 10 Indian seafarers aboard the oil tanker MV Harbour Phoenix were "detained, arrested and imprisoned in Iran" after the vessel was intercepted near Jask Port in July 2025. 

Even before the recent war, Iran regularly intercepted ships it suspected of illegally carrying fuel into the Gulf.

"Through sustained diplomatic engagement and coordinated efforts... the seafarers have now been released and reunited safely," India's Directorate General of Shipping said in a statement. 

India pursued a policy of diplomacy and made minimal comments to the media, not giving details on the negotiations or the reason for the arrest. Multiple ship-tracking websites list the MV Harbour Phoenix as a Palau-flagged oil products tanker.

New Delhi and Tehran have long-standing diplomatic ties, which India's foreign ministry often balances with its strategic ties with the US, asrecently seen during the Middle East crisis.

https://p.dw.com/p/5ENK9Skip next section Welcome to our coverage05/27/2026May 27, 2026

Welcome to our coverage

Good morning! And welcome to DW's India news blog.

This is Mahima Kapoor from the New Delhi Bureau, braving the heat and the mid-week slumps to bring to you the biggest headlines from India. 

The days-long heatwave cutting through India has triggered several forest fires in Himachal Pradesh, while a massive blaze is already raging in Indian administered Jammu and Kashmir.

India's shipping authorities said they secured the release of some Indian merchant navy sailors who were detained by Iran in 2025, after continued diplomatic efforts. 

Meanwhile, all eyes are on the Supreme Court of India which is expected to pronounce its judgement on several cases challenging the constitutional validity of the controversial Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls being conducted by the center in poll-bound states.

We will discuss all of this and more. Stay tuned!

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